


Home Life

by haikukitten



Series: Home Life [1]
Category: Legion of Superheroes
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-02
Updated: 2011-10-01
Packaged: 2017-10-20 23:10:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 69,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/218105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikukitten/pseuds/haikukitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brainy and Lyle take a big leap forward, retiring from the Legion and starting a life together in Metropolis. Of course, nothing is ever that simple. When Brainy finds out that he has a little brother, he and Lyle must try to give the boy something that Brainy never had; a real home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My Whole Life

**Author's Note:**

> Home Life  
> By: Haiku  
> Rating: M for future chapters.  
> Fandom: Legion of Superheroes, Reboot  
> Characters: Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid  
> Pairing: Brainy/Lyle

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 1: My Whole Life**

 _I want to live in the center of a circle_

 _I want to live on the side of a square_

 _I used to be in my M-Z, now_

 _You never find me ‘cause my name isn’t there_

 _Been holding out for a home life_

 _My whole life_

-          **_John Mayer, “Home Life”_**

It’s been a year since Imra Ardeen and Garth Ranzz tied the knot, so to speak. The wedding was a huge affair put together by R.J. Brande himself in honor of two of the children who saved his life.

It’s been two years since Brainiac 5 found a way to restore Garth’s physical body using stored DNA samples and discovering how to blend the DNA with the Tromium crystals together. The result was that Garth was fully flesh once again (including a brand new arm) and was double the firepower that he had been, with his own lightning back under his control and Jan’s powers of transmutation as well.

This, of course, meant that Brainiac 5 had a seat at the head table with the happy couples’ closest friends at the wedding reception. Invisible Kid had been seated next to him.

Barely a week after the wedding, Lyle asked Querl out to dinner. Things just sort of grew from there and now, a year later, Querl and Lyle are one of the Legion’s “official couples.” With all the media coverage that the Legion still gets, being a couple is sort of like being movie stars. Querl could do without the fame, in all honesty, but he likes being with Lyle. It’s fun, mostly harmless, and usually very relaxed. They still have their occasional rows, of course, because Querl just can’t help his temper; but if anything, it draws them closer together.

Today’s a special occasion because former Legionnaires Imra and Garth Ranzz, who retired from the Legion shortly after their union, have come back to show off their newly born twin boys, Graym and Garridan.

Querl hovers a little to the side while he watches his boyfriend gush over the newborns. Imra and Garth are exceedingly proud parents, accepting everyone’s congratulations with happy smiles.

“I do miss the Legion,” Imra admits to Rokk when he asks her. “Of course I do, you guys are family. But I have to admit, I don’t regret retiring. I know the Legion is in capable hands and Garth and I – we’re really happy on Winath. And with the boys now, really, it’s just perfect.”

“I wouldn’t mind retiring one day,” Lyle speaks up. He has baby Graym in his arms, looking somehow very natural with a child. He glances over at Querl sheepishly for a moment. “I mean, not right away, obviously. When the time is right, though, I’d like to.”

Querl takes that under consideration, has a minor panic attack in his lab a few hours later, and then comes to the conclusion that if it’s something Lyle wants, maybe it won’t be so bad.

So that night, when they’re lying in bed about to fall asleep, Querl mumbles, “I could be a doctor if I wanted to be.”

“Sorry?” Lyle sounds confused. “What’s this about being a doctor?”

“Well, if we… retired,” Querl replies nervously. “I could be a doctor. I, umm, already have the degree for it. I’d have to be an intern for a while, is all.”

Lyle snuggles a little closer to him and kisses his nose fondly. “Are you saying you’d like for us to have a future together?”

“Maybe.”

Silence stretches out between them.

“It’s just a thought,” Querl mutters. He rolls over on his side, facing away from Lyle, and they’re both silent the rest of the night.

\--

It’s not that Lyle doesn’t appreciate Brainy’s offer; really, it’s just that they’ve only been dating for a year and what Brainy is proposing is a big step. It really surprises him that Brainy even did it. When Lyle had said he’d like to settle down one day, he’d meant it as a general “eventually, when I’m older, I’d like to have the white picket fence thing.”

Of course, Brainy takes everything literally.

After Lyle’s reaction last night, Brainy is giving him the cold shoulder today. He’s tried to make it up to his boyfriend, but he’s probably embarrassed the Coluan terribly by not getting excited about the prospect of retiring, and when Brainy gets embarrassed he gets irritable.

“Look, it’s not that I don’t like the idea,” Lyle tries to reason over breakfast. “I do want to retire eventually…”

“Just not with me, I get it.” Brainy stands up from the table, taking his tray with him. “Don’t worry about it. It was a stupid idea and I don’t even know why I brought it up.”

Despite his words, there’s genuine hurt visible in Brainy’s expression and Lyle feels like an ass. He watches Brainy leave and pushes his food around on his plate without actually eating any of it.

He has to fix this.

So he makes a few calls. He calls his parents first, though he hasn’t talked to them in years, and asks how they’re doing. They’re still apathetic toward his career in the Legion, and his father is kind of rude, but his mother gets very excited when Lyle brings up Brainy.

“I’ve been reading about you two in the news,” she tells him cheerfully. “He seems like such a nice boy, Lyle; I wish you’d bring him to visit. I guess it’s hard to do that when you live so far away, though.”

He calls Mr. Brande next and tells him about Brainy’s sudden interest in being a doctor. Mr. Brande explains that it’s true – Brainy’s long since completed the requirements for a degree and could easily get an internship if he moved to Earth. It would probably take him no more than a year as an intern to get a position as a physician. Mr. Brande says he’s happy to send recommendation letters.

Finally, Lyle calls the Coluan embassy to see what it would take to marry a Coluan, since he’s never heard of them marrying outside of their people before. He is told by a rather unimpressed official that one Querl Dox has not legally been a resident of Colu since he was eleven, and is therefore subject to Earth regulations.

Lyle takes that to mean that the old Earth custom of proposing with a ring would be perfectly acceptable.

He corners Brainy in the lab later that evening. When Brainy attempts to duck around him and flee, Lyle grabs him and pulls him into a tight embrace.

“Stop it,” he murmurs sternly, his lips pressed against Brainy’s cheek. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I want a future with you too, okay? It just caught me off guard and I reacted poorly, but I’ve had a while to think about it. I want to start a life with you, Querl.”

Brainy goes limp in his arms. “Really?”

“Of course,” Lyle replies. “Of course I do. I love you. I can’t imagine living without you, I want to marry you some day, I… I want all of it, with you.”

“I love you too,” Brainy whispers, one of the few times he’s ever actually said those words.

\--

The apartment in Metropolis is a little cramped, but it has a nice view. Lyle explores it, talking animatedly about all the things they can do with it, while Querl stands in the center of the empty living room and stares out the window. Truth be told, his heart is pounding in his chest.

Mr. Brande got him an internship at Metropolis Medical Center, a very respectable establishment that would have been Querl’s first choice anyway. He’s been told already that a year from now, there will be a good job for him and his future is now secured.

He can more than afford his new life in Metropolis. He and Lyle bought the apartment together with their funds from the Legion, which they’ve both been saving for years. There’s still plenty of that money left over. And now Querl has a job and they’ll never want for anything.

Lyle has already been looking into getting a job as well. He’s been talking about doing computer programming, which he’s become quite adept at. It’s not nearly as exciting as fighting bad guys, he says, but it’s also not quite as dangerous.

“We need to buy some furniture,” Lyle says, coming back into the living room. “And Brainy, did you see this master bedroom? I mean, it’s fantastic.”

Lyle is dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and some boyish looking sneakers, and Querl hasn’t seen him this dressed down since the last Legion vacation. He looks good, Querl decides. More importantly, he looks happy.

“You need new clothes too,” Lyle remarks, looking over Querl’s own attire thoughtfully. “Sweater vests? Really?”

“I like sweater vests,” Querl defends, but he doesn’t really like them all that much, they were just a phase he went through when he was younger and he hasn’t bothered to update his wardrobe in quite a while.

The grin on Lyle’s face makes Querl grin back, and even though Querl hates shopping as a rule, it’s suddenly kind of exciting to think of buying furniture for his very own apartment.

“You know, this is… the first time I’ve ever really had something like this,” he admits, walking over to the window. “A home, I mean.”

Lyle comes over and wraps an arm around his waist. “We’ve got the rest of our lives now,” he murmurs.

“Yeah,” Brainy agrees and the thought makes him feel warm inside. “We do.”

\--

It’s a couple months later when Garth and Imra come to visit their new home, the boys in tow. Despite how Brainy complains ahead of time about unwanted company, he seems anxious to get the apartment thoroughly cleaned before they get there. He even hovers over Lyle’s shoulder while Lyle cooks supper, making occasional comments and recommendations.

When their friends finally arrive, Lyle breathes a sigh of relief.

“Nice place,” Garth remarks, with all the enthusiasm he can muster because he’s trying to be polite. “You guys… have interesting taste.”

“We were trying to optimize functionality,” Lyle explains. He’d wanted to get a little more creative with the interior design, but he’d introduced Brainy to designer furniture one time and Brainy had looked at all of the oddly colored, expensive couches with such a befuddled look on his face that Lyle just couldn’t subject the poor man to it.

Imra just smiles, because she knows how Brainy thinks and why it’s necessary to let the Coluan have his way.

“It’s definitely very functional,” she says, patting Querl’s shoulder. “Brainy, could you hold Graym for me? I really have to pee.”

She deposits tiny Graym into Brainy’s arms without further ado and disappears down the hallway to the bathroom. Brainy looks completely shocked to be holding the baby, and he handles Graym tenderly while staring at him with a terrified expression on his face.

Garth hefts Garridan up and grins at Brainy. “Babies,” he says with a hint of pride in his voice. “Aren’t they amazing? I just can’t get over these two. And it’s thanks to you that I had the chance, you know.”

Brainy looks over at Garth, surprised at the praise, and smiles shyly. Suddenly, he seems much more relaxed with Graym and he turns his focus on the baby completely. “You have beautiful children, Garth,” he says. “I can see that they truly are amazing.”

The babies are settled comfortably in their carriers in the living room for a nap while the adults have dinner. Lyle is thinking that this is nice, very relaxing and not at all uncomfortable, when Garth suddenly opens his big mouth.

“So, have you guys thought about having kids?”

Brainy chokes on a mouthful of food and Lyle quickly moves to his side, patting his back.

“I’ll… take that as a no,” Garth says sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean, you know… well, really, having kids is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I know you guys just moved in together but the way you both are with the boys, well, you’d be great dads, I think.”

“Well, we’re not married yet,” Lyle reasons while Brainy drinks long from his glass of water, draining the vessel. “I mean, I’ve… thought about it, I guess, but we haven’t talked about it at all.”

He thinks about his own childhood; about his dad’s volatile temper, and his mother so meek and unable to stand up for herself or her son. He’d be a better dad than that, wouldn’t he? Or mom, whatever role it was that he ends up filling for a kid.

And then he thinks about Brainy, who’s never even had a home before now, whose own mother tried to kill him, and he suddenly knows why Brainy choked.

“You should think about it,” Imra urges. “I know you wouldn’t be able to do it the conventional way, but there are ways to go about it. You could have children of your own or you could even adopt. Children make things brighter.”

“Don’t get us wrong,” Garth adds. “Kids are a lot of work. We’re still not getting enough sleep, one of the boys is almost always crying. And you have to clean up after them, and feed them, and do everything for them. But they’re so worth it.”

Brainy picks up his napkin, politely dabs at his mouth with it, and says, “I’m very sure that Lyle would make a wonderful parent, but I’m afraid that it wouldn’t be wise for me to undertake a responsibility like that.”

“Maybe in the future,” says Imra soothingly.

“No,” Brainy says firmly. “The Dox line ends with me.”

There’s an awkward silence for a moment before Garth and Lyle reclaim the evening with talk about the newest Legionnaires and the weather on Winath these days. Brainy doesn’t talk much for the remainder of the evening.

When night rolls around, Lyle follows Brainy to the bedroom hoping maybe for a quickie before they sleep, but Brainy undresses mechanically and climbs right into bed, pulling the blankets up to his ears and making it clear that he’s not in the mood.

With a sigh, Lyle follows suit, but he snuggles up against his boyfriend despite how prickly Brainy is being.

“You’re upset,” Lyle murmurs. “About the whole kid thing?”

“It’s nothing,” Brainy mutters. He’s silent for a long moment and then says, “I’m sorry, Lyle.”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” Lyle questions with a frown. “We just had a great evening with our friends, we’ve got this beautiful apartment; things are going great right now.”

“I can’t have kids.” Brainy’s voice is a little choked as he speaks. “I’m sorry, I just can’t. I… never talked to you about… my mother, or what it was like for me before Mr. Brande found me. It didn’t even occur to me until this evening that you would even want kids with me, but I’m… I’m not sure I could be a good parent and I know what it’s like to be… neglected.”

Lyle cups Brainy’s face in his hands and looks him in the eyes. “Brainy – Querl – you would be an amazing father, do you hear me? We don’t have to have kids. And even if we wanted them, it wouldn’t have to be right now. But you… you’re not your mother. You would love our kids. I know you’d take the best care of them. So don’t think you _can’t_ have kids. But don’t think you have to have them, either.”

“You have a lot of faith in me,” Brainy says. “I’m not a great person, Lyle. I try, but I’m selfish and insecure, and I don’t think before I act. I’ve never truly loved anyone but you and my mother.”

It breaks Lyle’s heart to know that Brainy thinks like this about himself. He wants to prove him wrong, tell Brainy over and over that he’s amazing, strong, and so very brave.

“Grife, Brainy, you’re beautiful,” he whispers, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. “I love you so much. And you deserve it, okay? You deserve to be loved, and I do love you.”

Any fears Lyle has been having about his own ability to raise a child are thrown out the window. If Brainy ever decides that he wants kids, Lyle knows he’ll give their children everything, and so will Brainy. Whatever happened to the two of them in the past, it’s in the past now. They really do have the rest of their lives.

\--

Work is frustrating. Querl comes home exhausted on a regular basis, because he’s no good at the social aspect of working at a hospital even if he’s often praised as being the most competent intern that Metro Center has ever had.

He’s particularly worn out today because he got in a bit of a tiff with one of the nurses when he tried to explain to her that she could take blood more efficiently and with less pain involved for the patient. She hadn’t appreciated it, and had pointed out that _she_ had been to nursing school and had hands-on experience, while all he’d done was sit in front of a screen and take every class online.

He pointed out in return that he’s been on the battlefield, had to provide emergency services for his teammates in the middle of a fight, and he considered that to be hands-on experience.

Ultimately, the argument had gone nowhere and Querl is just glad to be home. Lyle will be back soon too and maybe they can get cozy on the couch together and Querl can ignore his real life problems for a while.

He changes into more casual clothes and goes to fetch a drink from the kitchen when the home computer announces that someone is calling. Reluctantly, he hits the answer button and Mr. Brande’s face appears on the screen.

“Ah, Querl, good to see you!” the old man says cheerfully. “I was hoping I would catch you. I have some news that I think you’re going to be interested in.”

Querl nods his head in greeting. “Mr. Brande,” he acknowledges. “What is this news you have?”

“Well, as you know, your mother escaped Takron Galtos a few years back,” says Mr. Brande. “Since then, we have been trying to locate her but she hasn’t actually caused any trouble until recently. She was apprehended three days ago and taken into custody, along with many of her associates.”

“Yes, I had heard something about that,” Querl admits. Cosmic Boy had called in the day it happened, and Querl would have done further investigation but Lyle thought it would be best if Querl let others handle Brainiac 4.

Mr. Brande clears his throat, looking a little uncomfortable. “Yes, I suspected you would find out through the grapevine. Lad, I’m about to tell you something that may… complicate things for you, but I feel you have a right to know. When we cleared out Brainiac 4’s base of operations, we found a little boy, maybe three years old. He’s your brother, Querl.”

It’s like someone has punched Querl in the gut. He has a little brother? His mother had another child? Why? Why in the universe would she have another baby when she tried to kill Querl?

“I… need to sit down.” Querl grabs a chair and collapses in it before his knees can give out on him. “Where is the boy now?”

“With me, for the time being,” Mr. Brande replies. “However, you are his next of kin. If you want to, you can claim custody of him. He’s had a hard time, lad. As you can imagine, your mother was not exactly kind to him. I will take him in if I need to but I’m getting old and a toddler is probably more than I can handle. You are the only other person who is likely to understand what he needs.”

Querl’s mouth is dry and he swallows thickly. “What’s his name?”

“Ryn Dox. He looks just like you and he’s definitely inherited your brains. Why don’t you and Lyle come and see him, at least? You don’t have to make this decision right away but at least think about it. You might be his only shot at a normal family.”

“Of course, I’ll be there tomorrow,” Querl replies before he can talk himself out of the idea. “I… I at least want to meet him.”

Only a few days ago, he swore to Imra that he, Querl Dox, would be the last Brainiac. He’d meant it at the time. But he never thought his mother would be the one to continue the cycle, not after what she’d done to him.

He feels sick when he realizes what she’s probably done to this little boy. Ryn has probably never known a gentle touch, was probably only brought into the world to give his mother a punching bag, something to make her _feel_.

He can’t turn his back on this boy, knowing what he knows. Mr. Brande is no longer capable of caring for such a small child, and the Brainiac children have special needs. Querl knows that better than anyone.

Still, taking in a child is a huge responsibility, let alone a child who is like _him_. They might even have to move to a bigger house, maybe one with a great deal of privacy. Can he control Ryn, knowing what he was like at that age? Maybe, but Mr. Brande never managed it.

For a long time, he just sits there, his head in his hands. He knows what Lyle’s response will be, because Lyle is the soft-hearted type who would feel guilty for the rest of his life if he put his own comfort ahead of a child’s. And Querl knows that Lyle does want children, and he knows that Lyle would be a wonderful parent. Querl is the one who isn’t ready yet.

Lyle finds him still in the chair in front of the computer when he gets home. Querl doesn’t even have to say anything to let Lyle know that he’s upset about something; Lyle can instantly tell from the look on his face.

“Hey, B, what’s wrong?” his boyfriend asks gently, coming over to put his arms around Querl. “Is everything alright?”

Querl shakes his head miserably and hides his face against Lyle’s shoulder. He’s suddenly aware of how painfully tight his throat is, and how his eyes are stinging just a little. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

He wonders how he would have handled that call if he hadn’t known he’d have Lyle’s support throughout this.

~TBC


	2. Wrap Your Arms around Me

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 2: Wrap Your Arms around Me**

 _I concede that you were right about this place_

 _I can make a perfect likeness of your body if I trace_

 _I can hold you ‘til you turn out the light and I can’t see_

 _Do you believe that we are all innately good?_

 _Do you think you would love me ‘til tomorrow if you could?_

 _Would you please turn down the radio so we can speak?_

 _I put my hands around your neck; you wrap your arms around me._

-          **_Barenaked Ladies, “Wrap Your Arms around Me”_**

Brainy is silent all the way to Mr. Brande’s home. No attempt on Lyle’s part to make him talk has been successful. Lyle supposes that this is just a lot for Brainy to take in, but he has to admit that he’s worried about his boyfriend. Brainy doesn’t handle change very well and is notoriously vulnerable when it comes to any matters pertaining to his mother.

They both took off of work today for this, and Lyle had no idea how to explain it to his boss. He’d said something vague about family matters. He can’t help but wonder what excuse Brainy used. Maybe Brainy just told the truth. He’s never been one to sugarcoat things.

Mr. Brande meets them at the door and ushers them inside. “Ryn is in the sitting room,” he says as he leads them through the house. “Try not to make sudden movements, he’s a little skittish. And don’t take offense at anything he says. He’s not had a lot of social interaction.”

The little boy in the floor looks so much like Brainy. Ryn is diligently drawing in a sketch pad that Mr. Brande must have given him and the diagram that’s already nearly filled up the page is so complex and detailed that Lyle can hardly believe it’s truly Ryn’s work. Didn’t Brainy say that Ryn is only three years old?

Brainy moves past Lyle and unceremoniously sets himself down on the floor beside the boy. Ryn looks up at him for a moment before turning his attention back to his work.

“What are you working on?” Brainy asks calmly.

“It’s what I think the inside of a star probably looks like,” Ryn replies. “A new star, to be exact. Who are you?”

“He’s your brother, Ryn,” Mr. Brande speaks up. “Remember, I told you that Querl was coming to see you? And this is his boyfriend, Lyle Norg.”

Ryn is only mildly interested in Lyle at all, far more intrigued by his supposed brother. He looks Brainy over critically, narrowing his eyes just exactly the way Brainy used to do when they were children, his nose curling up in disdain.

“He doesn’t look like much,” the boy finally decides.

“I’m the smartest man in the universe,” Brainy informs him coolly. “Is that impressive enough for you?”

“Mother said you’re a disappointment,” Ryn says with a shrug. “Mother is the smartest woman in the universe.”

Brainy looks like the kid might as well have slapped him in the face. He schools his features quickly. “Mother is very smart,” he agrees. “However, I think she deems me a disappointment for reasons other than my intelligence.”

He reaches over to take the pen from Ryn. “Here, let me show you what you’re doing wrong,” he says.

Ryn jerks back away from him violently, his eyes wide. He clutches the pen tightly in his hand, as though it’s something precious that Brainy was trying to steal from him.

“Easy, Ryn,” Brainy tries to sooth, holding his hands up to show that he means no harm. “I just wanted to see your pen for a minute. Can I borrow it?”

He tries to reach out again, but this time Ryn lets out a shriek and throws the pen at him before scrambling away, terrified. For the first time, Lyle notices the fading bruises on the boy’s arms and he sees how skinny Ryn is and how his hair, which should shine like Brainy’s golden curls do, is lackluster.

This child has been hurt, he realizes.

Brainy stands up and backs away from Ryn, his expression strained. “I’m sorry, Mr. Brande,” he says. “It’s different. I don’t know… I can’t relate to this, I don’t know what to do for him.”

“I do,” Lyle speaks up. He pats Brainy’s shoulder soothingly. “Let me see if I can talk to him.”

He slowly approaches Ryn, who has huddled down in a corner, watching them all with suspicious eyes. Lyle kneels down in front of him and smiles. “Hey, Ryn. Querl and I were wondering if you’d like to go out and get some ice cream with us.”

“Ice cream?” Ryn frowns. “What’s ice cream?”

Lyle grins broadly. “Only the most awesome thing ever. We’ll show you. Do you want to come with us?”

“Outside?” Ryn asks nervously. “I…. Mother said not to go outside. I should just wait here for her to get back.”

“Well, I suppose we could go by ourselves,” Lyle says, feigning sadness. “We were really hoping that you would come too but that’s okay.” He starts to stand back up. “If there’s any leftover, maybe we can bring some back for you. But Querl really loves ice cream, so he might eat all of it before we get back.”

He glances at Brainy and winks. Brainy gives him an incredulous look that makes it clear that he thinks Lyle is crazy.

It does the trick. Ryn comes out of his corner, puffing out his little chest bravely. “I want to know what it is,” he huffs. “So, I’ll have to go with you, since Mother isn’t here to tell me what to do.”

And that’s how Lyle ends up at an ice cream shop with his socially inept boyfriend and his boyfriend’s slightly insane three year-old brother.

On the upside, Ryn is sufficiently distracted by ice cream. He’s never seen anything like it before but Brainy explains how it’s made and what it’s made of, and Ryn is completely won over. What little kid doesn’t like ice cream, anyway?

The waitress who serves them is completely charmed by Ryn. She first mistakes him as Lyle’s and Brainy’s son, but it’s Ryn who corrects her and explains that Brainy is actually his older brother. Ryn, it seems, is as charmed by the waitress as she is by him. She’s tall, blonde, and buxom, and Lyle definitely catches Brainy checking her out too. Seems the Dox men all have eyes for those particular features on women.

“You like her?” Lyle teases Ryn when the waitress walks away. “I think she’s a little out of your league, kiddo.”

Ryn snorts derisively. “Of course she is. I’m only three years old. But she is pretty. She reminds me of Mother.”

A puzzle piece clicks into place for Lyle and he glances over at Brainy, arching an eyebrow. Brainy refuses to look him in the eyes.

When they finish their ice cream, Lyle proposes a walk in the park and maybe a trip to the Superman Museum. Ryn is hesitant at first, but he enjoyed the ice cream so much and Lyle can tell he’s curious. If there’s one thing he knows about the Dox family, it’s that they have difficulty resisting the pull of curiosity. Finally, Ryn agrees.

Despite how incredibly smart Ryn obviously is, it becomes apparent that he’s been severely limited. He asks constant questions about nearly everything they see, which Lyle and Brainy take turns answering. Ryn seems to enjoy learning so many new things but Brainy is obviously bothered that his little brother has been so sheltered.

When they get to the Superman Museum, Ryn asks them who Superman is and why he has a whole museum dedicated to him. Lyle and Brainy share a look over his head. The three of them find a good spot to sit outside, with a view of the impressive Superman statue, and they tell Ryn all about the Man of Steel and the other heroes who fought alongside him.

They tell him about how R.J. Brande formed the Legion of Superheroes, inspired by heroes from the past. Ryn is fascinated to learn that Lyle and Brainy used to be heroes themselves. He asks them why they quit, and they try to explain that they wanted to have a family and a quiet life together.

“Actually, Ryn, there’s something we wanted to talk to you about,” Brainy says quietly. “You’re a very smart boy, I know. And you know that Mother can’t come back to get you, right?”

The boy’s lower lip immediately sticks out in a pout. “But she said she would. She always comes back.”

“She’s in prison,” Brainy gently explains. “Mother did very bad things, Ryn. She hurt a lot of people. I know you love her, believe me, but you can’t live with her anymore. And that’s not something any of us can change, even if we wanted to.”

Brainy’s hands, folded in his lap, are trembling.

“Why can’t I live wither her? She’s my mother!” Ryn scowled, furrowing his brow and wrinkling his little nose. “That’s not fair! Things were just fine before! Why’d you have to go and ruin it?”

He gets up and stomps a few feet away, where he sits down with an angry huff.

“Ryn, I know this is hard,” Brainy tries to reason with him, following him and sitting down beside him.

“You don’t know!” Ryn snaps. “How could you know?”

“I know because she’s my mother too.” Brainy places a hand on Ryn’s back. “I love her so much. But sometimes loving people isn’t enough. They have to love you back, or else you’ll only ever get hurt. Believe me; I know that better than anyone.”

“… She doesn’t mean to be like that,” Ryn mutters. “She’s just trying to feel something. She doesn’t hurt me because she wants to.”

“I know,” says Brainy. “I know. But you shouldn’t have to hurt. Neither of us deserves to hurt.”

Ryn scrubs at his eyes with one hand, but he doesn’t cry and neither does Brainy. Lyle feels like he might burst into tears himself at any moment. He feels a surge of hate towards Brainiac 4. Doesn’t she know how much her children love her? What did she ever do to deserve so much love, when she’s never given any back?

“We want to ask you a very important question,” Brainy says. He reaches out a hand to Lyle, and Lyle comes over and takes hold of it firmly. “If you want to, Ryn, Lyle and I would like for you to come and live with us.”

“What if I say no?” Ryn demands. “Do I get to live with Mother instead?”

Lyle shakes his head. “If you say you don’t want to live with us, Mr. Brande has offered to let you live with him. He’s a wonderful man, and he helped the both of us a great deal when we needed him, but we both think it would be better if you lived with us. We have a home, an apartment with an extra bedroom. Querl works at the hospital, but I don’t have to leave home very often for my work. We would be able to spend more time with you than Mr. Brande would.”

What he’s offering Ryn would have meant the world to him when he was that age, and he knows that Brainy wishes now that he’d had that sort of childhood. But Ryn doesn’t understand that he’s lacking anything, or that he deserves a better life than what he’s been given.

“Why would you do all that for me?” the boy asks. “Why do you want me to live with you so much?”

He’s so suspicious of any sort of kindness. Lyle remembers that Brainy was a lot like that when he was younger. Every word of praise, every friendly gesture, had to be analyzed carefully so that Brainy could determine if it was meant purely in good will or if there was an ulterior motive behind it.

Brainy looks flustered and uncertain. He doesn’t know what to say to make Ryn believe them. Lyle squeezes his hand reassuringly.

“We’re trying to build a family,” Lyle says. “And we think we can offer that to you, as well. It’s something we’ve never really had ourselves, but I think that if the three of us work together, we can work it out. Ryn, I love Querl. He’s my family. And you’re _his_ family, so you’re my family too.”

“Maybe we can even visit Mother sometimes,” Brainy offers. This surprises Lyle, because Brainy has never once visited Brainiac 4 in prison, not after she tried to kill him. “Just try it for a while. If you don’t like living with us, then… well, we’ll see if there’s a better solution.”

“Well…” Ryn stares down at his shoes for a few long moments, and then looks back up at them. “I’ll try it, I guess; if I can visit Mother.”

Lyle and Brainy both sigh in relief. This is the first step forward.

Only a couple of days ago, Lyle had told himself that they would probably never have children. He had been disappointed, but he’d accepted that he could not force Brainy to do something he didn’t want to do. Now, suddenly, there is a child in their lives. For all intents and purposes, Ryn might as well be their own. Brainy has more of a claim to the boy than anyone.

And Lyle can see that Brainy’s scared, but he can also see that Brainy wants this. Brainy wanted Ryn the moment Mr. Brande told him of Ryn’s existence. This is Brainy’s chance to give his little brother a normal life.

It will work. It has to work. Lyle swears that he will make this work, for all of them.

\--

They have to meet with the physician who treated Ryn when he was first found. Querl listens patiently as the other doctor explains all of the injuries Ryn was treated for. There is ample evidence of abuse, the doctor says, and malnutrition as well. Ryn apparently has never been fed very well and will have to be placed on a carefully monitored diet. Even the ice cream Lyle bought for him made him sick to his stomach, though they’d been careful to not let him eat too much of it.

It is agreed that they’ll wait a week and see how Ryn adjusts before Querl takes full custody of him. After all, Querl promised him that they would find a better way if things didn’t seem to be working out.

The last thing he wants to do is ever see his mother again, but he knows he’ll have to make good on his promise to Ryn if he wants to earn the boy’s trust. He won’t take Ryn to see her very often, though, and not just because Querl doesn’t want to see her. He doesn’t think it’s healthy for Ryn to be around her either.

The knowledge that she actually had another child just so she could beat him and abuse him makes Querl wish she’d died years ago. She’s ill, he knows, and she is to be pitied. But she is as smart as Querl himself, and she should know the difference between right and wrong. Right and wrong don’t matter to her, though. She only cares about herself.

Originally, Querl had planned to use the second bedroom as a study. He moves his worktable to his and Lyle’s bedroom, and boxes up a lot of his hobby projects and stores them in the closet. He and Lyle buy new furniture for the room to make it more welcoming to a little boy. They also buy Ryn a selection of new clothes and a few toys, which they decide they will buy more of with Ryn. Querl buys Ryn some textbooks on various subjects. Lyle buys two baseball gloves, one his size and one Ryn’s size, several baseballs, and a teddy bear.

When they finally get Ryn moved in, he doesn’t bring much with him. Mr. Brande has supplied him with some clothes, some books, and a personal communicator but he didn’t have anything to his name but the rags he was wearing when he was found.

Ryn’s eyes light up when they show him his new room.  He investigates everything. The clothes, he says, are much nicer than anything he’s ever seen. The textbooks, he says, looks very interesting. The baseballs and gloves, he can’t quite figure out, but Lyle promises to show him how to use them. Finally, Ryn takes the teddy bear off the bed and holds it up appraisingly.

“I like this,” he proclaims. “I think he will be my minion. I will call him Assistant Bear.”

“Good name,” Lyle agrees. “Much better than, say, Koko.”

Querl ducks his head sheepishly. Admittedly, he was never much for names, and Koko had just sort of showed up anyway, whether Querl liked it or not. He won’t say it out loud, but he does miss the little monkey. After a while, he’d gotten used to having Koko with him while he worked. It’s probably a good thing he doesn’t have Koko now. He doesn’t think the apartment could contain the little nuisance.

“Can I get a poster of Superman?” Ryn asks them unexpectedly. He looks up at them with imploring eyes, and Querl couldn’t tell him no even if he wanted to.

“First thing tomorrow,” Lyle promises. He kneels down and ruffles Ryn’s hair fondly. “Tomorrow we’re going to go shopping together and get some more stuff. Okay? Now, it’s time for supper.”

Dinner is a relatively quiet affair. Ryn eats everything on his plate quickly, and then asks for seconds, which he again consumes in record time. He seems as pleased with the home cooked meal as he was with the ice cream.

“Mother never made anything,” the boy explains. “I ate mostly food paste. It doesn’t have much taste. I really like food, though, because I like to taste things.”

Querl’s fingers clench tightly around his fork. He tries not to be angry with his mother. Anger doesn’t do any good, does it? The best he can do is to take care of Ryn now and make sure the boy is happy.

“You’ll always eat well here,” he says firmly. “Boys need proper nutrition.”

Ryn gazes at him with a puzzled expression on his face, as though he can’t quite comprehend what Querl is saying to him.

“You’re angry,” the boy says at last. “Why are you angry, Querl?”

“I’m not angry,” Querl grumbles defensively, but he can tell that such an answer will not be adequate for Ryn. “I’m not angry with you,” he amends reluctantly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you angry with Lyle?” Ryn wants to know, refusing to drop the subject.

“No, of course not!” Querl slams his fork back down on the table in irritation. The action makes Ryn jump in surprise. Querl swears softly under his breath and stands up from the table. “I’m sorry, I’m not feeling well. I’ll retire early.”

He storms to his bedroom – _their_ bedroom, his and Lyle’s – and shuts the door quietly instead of slamming it like he wants to. Violence is pointless, and he can handle this if he can just be alone for a few moments to calm down.

He first sits down on the edge of the bed, but this leads quickly to lying down, and then he is curling into a protective ball, hiding his face against a pillow. His throat feels tight, but he’s not going to cry. How many times before has he cried over his mother? And he doesn’t even need her. Really, he’s been so very lucky, because Mr. Brande found him and gave him a place to stay, and Lyle is so wonderful and Querl loves him so much. This should be enough.

It should be, but it isn’t. Every time he thinks about his mother it hurts worse, like being electrocuted all over again. And he wants to love Ryn and take care of him, but every time he looks at Ryn, he thinks of his mother.

No one bothers him for a long time. Through the door, he can hear Lyle and Ryn talking, though he can’t make out what they’re saying. Eventually, they quiet and Querl hears Lyle’s footsteps coming near.

The door to the bedroom opens and then closes, and Lyle pads to the bed quietly. He sits on the opposite side of it and Querl listens to him undressing.

“You okay?” Lyle murmurs as he shimmies under the blankets and wraps his arms around Querl, pressing his bare chest against Querl’s back. He kisses Querl’s neck tenderly. “I sent Ryn to bed and I stayed with him until he fell asleep.”

“He got enough to eat?” Querl asks, around the lump in his throat.

“Yeah, he had plenty.” Lyle’s fingers gently rub his arms. “Hey, B, you should get undressed. You can’t sleep in your clothes.”

“Yes, of course,” Querl agrees quietly. He draws away from Lyle and sits up, sliding off his shirt first. Then he kicks off his shoes, pulls of his socks, and pushes down his jeans. He hesitates for a moment then, knowing that Lyle’s eyes are on him. Then he slips off his underwear.

Lyle sits up in bed abruptly. “Brainy, what are you doing?”

“Please, be quiet,” Querl grumbles as he climbs back into bed. He lies down and stares up at Lyle determinedly. “You said Ryn is asleep, right?”

“I don’t think this is a good idea right now,” Lyle tries to reason gently. “You’re upset and this whole thing with Ryn, it’s so new and I’m having trouble adjusting too, you know. So, you don’t need to feel like… like you have to do this for me. You don’t, okay?”

“Do you want me or not?” Querl tires quickly of Lyle’s sympathy. “Just say it.”

Lyle reaches a hand to tenderly stroke Querl’s cheek. “I always want you,” he whispers. “You are breathtaking, you know? But for tonight, let’s just sleep. Let’s adjust to everything first.”

He leans down and kisses Querl, passionate but tender, and Querl melts into the kiss. “Okay,” he whispers against Lyle’s lips. “You win.”

“And you’re the prize,” Lyle says fondly, lying back down and curling his body around Querl’s.

“The consolation prize,” Querl corrects, self-deprecatingly.

“The grand prize,” Lyle insists. He wraps his arms around Querl and draws him even closer. Querl rests his head against Lyle’s chest, listening to the steady beat of Lyle’s heart. “You’re the grand prize, Querl.”

~TBC


	3. Keep Them High

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I made up the stuff about Ryn’s name. I don’t speak Coluan. Actually, I don’t think anybody does.  
> Also, thanks to gongitsune for the beautiful artwork that inspired this chapter.

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 3: Keep Them High**

 _The calm of turbulent seas fallen to sleep_

 _And when the troubles arise we hold on tight_

 _How can a body contain something so great?_

 _My shell will suddenly burst, out will come birds_

-          **_A Fine Frenzy, “Hide and Seek”_**

A week later, Querl is signing all the necessary documents to take full custody of his little brother. He only has one challenger; ColuGov. Of course his home planet wants to try and get their hands on another Brainiac, despite their decision to give Querl away when he was younger. They probably see him as a failed experiment and Ryn as a chance to start over.

However, they won’t get the chance. It has been established that Ryn was born off world, and therefore Colu has no jurisdiction over him or any claim to him. Querl, however, is Ryn’s only known blood relative, besides Brainiac 4. The matter is handled quickly and Ryn becomes Querl’s responsibility.

Maybe Querl can deal with taking care of a kid, maybe he can’t. At least Lyle is there, picking up the slack, and Ryn seems to like Lyle. The two of them have bonded over superheroes, and Ryn’s bedroom walls are now plastered in posters.

“Your superhero name was Brainiac 5, so am I Brainiac 6?” Ryn asks Querl. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”

Querl is washing dishes when this question is posed to him. He pauses, elbow-deep in soapy bubbles, and looks over at the little boy. Ryn is staring up at him with solemn eyes, squeezing Assistant Bear in a tight hug.

“No, you’re not,” Querl says after a long moment of figuring out what the best response would be. “You’re Ryn Dox. That’s good enough.”

A hurt look quickly spreads across Ryn’s face and he grips Assistant Bear a little tighter. He scuffs his shoe against the floor, looking away from Querl. “Yeah, but I thought maybe if I was like you, I could be a hero like you and Lyle were.”

“Too dangerous,” Querl persists, pursing his lips stubbornly. “You can be a scientist or a doctor and still be like us. I always wanted to make a real career at the Time Institute.”

This is not a good enough answer for Ryn. “I _want_ to be a hero like Superman!” he exclaims, stomping his little foot. “Lyle told me stories all about it! Why can’t I?!”

It’s a good thing that Lyle comes in right then, probably alerted by all the noise Ryn is making. The human gives Querl a suspicious look before he scoops Ryn up in his arms dramatically and kisses the boy on the nose.

“What’s all this noise in here?” Lyle demands playfully. “I’m hearing too much unhappiness out of the two of you. Too much!”

Ryn giggles and holds up his teddy bear. “Kiss Assistant Bear too!” he begs. “He’s my sidekick!”

Lyle indulgently kisses the bear on the nose as well, and then sets Ryn down on the ground again. “Hey, sweetie, why don’t you let me talk to Querl for a bit? I think he’s a bit cranky. And you know how you get when you’re cranky? Well, Querl’s a bit worse about it, isn’t he?”

“Oh, yes,” Ryn agrees solemnly, nodding his head. He takes Lyle’s advice and scampers off, probably back to his bedroom.

“Don’t start,” Querl snaps at Lyle the minute Ryn is out of the room. “I’m not in the mood for it.”

“I know you don’t like to be told when you’re doing something wrong,” Lyle replies sternly, “but quite frankly, dear, you’re doing this wrong.”

Querl turns his most scathing glare on his boyfriend. “I’m so sorry,” he spits out sarcastically. “I didn’t realize that adopting my three year-old brother and taking him into my home was the wrong thing to do. But do go on, I realize you probably have a lot to complain about.”

He’s being petty, he realizes, but he’s grumpy and Lyle’s not doing anything to help matters. They haven’t had sex since Ryn moved in, and it’s not because Querl doesn’t want to (as it usually is when they have dry spells). Querl suspects that Lyle doesn’t feel right about doing that sort of thing with Ryn in the house, but Querl is craving some attention. Anything, a blowjob, a hand job would be alright.

“Hey, what exactly is your problem?” Lyle asks, putting his hands on his hips. “You know, I get that this is hard to adjust to, but Ryn is a great kid. And he looks up to you! So why are you being so hateful to him? Why are you in such an awful mood?”

“Because,” Querl growls out, “I am so incredibly sexually frustrated right now that I’m actually having _vivid daydreams_ about you and I on the kitchen table!”

This shocks Lyle into complete silence. He stares at Querl like the Coluan has grown three heads, his mouth opened in a surprised “o.”

Querl turns back to the dishes and furiously returns to washing.

“Umm, so,” Lyle begins to speak eventually, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something so… err… suggestive?”

“Yeah, well.” Querl can’t think of an intelligent response. He can feel his cheeks heating up from embarrassment. “I suppose I should have been nicer to Ryn.”

“I didn’t realize you were really, you know, _in need_ ,” Lyle continues, embarrassing Querl further. “I mean, usually I’m the one who goes without, no offense meant or anything. I guess I just hadn’t even thought about it, but you have needs too and I should have been more attentive. I’ll make it up to you. Okay?”

Still feeling a little sore, Querl hunches his shoulders stubbornly. “Of course I have needs. Why wouldn’t I have needs? Everyone does. I’m not some… some sort of robot, okay?! I know everyone assumes that I don’t have _feelings_ or _urges_ like the rest of you do, but it’s just not true, okay?!”

“Easy does it, B.” Lyle comes up behind him and puts his hands on Querl’s shoulders. He leans in and presses his lips to Querl’s neck.

Querl’s eyes flutter at the sensation, and he inhales sharply.

“Lyle…”

“Tonight, okay?” Lyle murmurs. “After Ryn goes to sleep, you and I will have some quality time.”

“That… that’s acceptable,” Querl replies, ducking his head and scrubbing almost violently on a plate.

To be fair, Lyle really does try to make good on his promise. He puts Ryn to bed while Querl finishes up some paperwork. The two of them meet in the bedroom, and Querl pounces on his boyfriend with more fervor than he’s really ever experienced before. Lyle has never seemed quite this sexy.

They’re tangled together, skin on skin making delicious friction that Querl can’t get enough of, and Querl knows he’s gasping and making little noises that he usually doesn’t, but he can’t help it. He’s usually never noisy during sex. Tonight, though, everything Lyle does sends tingles running through him.

And that’s when the knock comes on the bedroom door. Both men freeze, staring at the door in horrified silence for several moments before a little voice speaks up on the other side of it.

“Querl, are you and Lyle having sex?” is Ryn’s question.

Lyle groans and rolls off of Querl, putting one hand over his eyes. He’s obviously mortified by the question. “Ryn, go back to bed.”

“But I just want to know!” Ryn persists grumpily. “What’s the big deal?”

“Yes!” Querl exclaims, exasperated. “Yes, we _were_ having sex, Ryn. It’s impolite to ask people such questions, okay? Now go back to bed.”

There’s a long silence, and then, “But Assistant Bear got scared. Can we sleep with you?”

Lyle glances at Querl, who gives a suffering sigh and nods. The mood is officially dead now anyway. The two of them climb out of bed and track down pajamas. Lyle goes to the door and opens it, ushering Ryn inside. “Come on then. Just for tonight.”

Ryn scurries into the room and clambers up onto the bed, Assistant Bear held tightly in his arms. He actually does look scared, or maybe nervous is more appropriate. His eyes flit from corner to corner, as though he expects something to jump out at him.

“What happened, sweetie?” Lyle asks as he gets back into bed. He opens his arms and Ryn snuggles into the embrace. “Why did you get scared?”

Querl gets back into bed on the other side of Ryn, the boy now serving as a barrier between him and his boyfriend.

“I had a bad dream,” Ryn admits. “Sometimes that happens.”

“Sometimes I have bad dreams too,” Lyle tells him gently. He kisses the boy on the top of his head. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Mother was in it,” Ryn whispers.

Querl’s heart clenches painfully and he moves closer to his little brother, placing a hand on Ryn’s back. Things have been going so well with Ryn that he’d forgotten about the trauma the boy has gone through. Of course Ryn would have nightmares. Querl still has them himself.

“You’re safe here,” he murmurs. “We won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Ryn nods and gives a sleepy yawn. “Okay, I trust you,” he mumbled, his eyes drifting closed. “Querl… you’re my hero…”

Querl supposes the shocked expression on his face must be quite comical, because Lyle grins at him widely and barely holds back laughter. But he can’t help being surprised – no one has ever said something like that to him before.

This feeling of simple and pure love that fills him now is strange. He’d thought he couldn’t love a child like this, but now he knows he was wrong. He knows that being Ryn’s hero feels right like nothing else ever has.

\--

Lyle has difficulty believing that Ryn is only three years old. He looks the part, but he talks like an eight year-old and reads college level textbooks for fun. Now that he’s settled in, he’s getting more and more curious about his surroundings. Lyle has shooed him out of the kitchen more times than he can count. However, Lyle has come up with a plan for keeping Ryn occupied.

When Brainy gets home that evening, Lyle has used the day wisely. He and Ryn are covered in flour, as is the kitchen. They’ve been baking cookies for hours; Ryn’s favorite flavor, double chocolate chip with dark chocolate. Lyle happens to know on good authority that they’re Brainy’s favorite too.

Ryn is a delighted, giggling mess. The flour is all over his clothes, in his hair, and covers his face and hands. Lyle is not much better off.

Brainy seems shell-shocked as he stands in the doorway staring at them. “It looks like one of my labs blew up in here,” he finally speaks, arching an eyebrow.

“We’re _baking_!” Ryn exclaims. “Lyle showed me how! He wouldn’t let me use the stove though. But I mixed everything together!”

“Okay.” Brainy holds his hands up. “I really don’t care, as long as it all gets cleaned up. However, Lyle, _you_ will be giving him his bath. And neither of you will step foot into the living room until you are flour free.”

“We hear you loud and clear,” Lyle promises, then lifts a plate of freshly baked cookies. “Would you like some chocolate, love?”

Brainy narrows his eyes at the cookies. “Dark chocolate?” he asks hopefully.

“Ryn insisted,” Lyle agrees with a grin.

Lyle is really enjoying this whole parent thing. He spends the most time with Ryn between him and Brainy, since he’s arranged to work from home. Ryn, despite being curious to a fault, is mostly well behaved. He usually reads books or plays superhero games starring himself and Assistant Bear.

Despite how well he and Ryn get along, Lyle knows that Ryn’s favorite person is actually Brainy. Ever since he found out that Brainy was once a hero who used his intelligence to protect people, Ryn has idolized him. When he plays his superhero games, Ryn has taken to calling himself “Brainiac 6” in homage to his brother, rather than his mother.

Brainy tries not to look too eager when he takes a cookie, but the dreamy expression on his face when he bites into the warm, gooey chocolate is a dead giveaway. He’s been much better with Ryn these past few days, despite being completely thrown off by the new addition to the family. He’s never been great with kids – especially small, hyper ones – but he’s finally adjusting to Ryn and a sort of harmony exists between the three of them.

“I saved a planet today,” Ryn informs his older brother. “Before lunch. Lyle says that’s a record.”

“I always had to have a sandwich before I could save a planet,” Brainy says, playing along. “Otherwise my cognitive powers were subpar.”

“And I made a new game to play on the computer!” Ryn adds enthusiastically. “It’s about Assistant Bear saving a princess!”

“How clever,” Brainy praises. He is practically glowing now, though he’d deny it if Lyle said anything. “Did you do all of your homework too?”

“Most of it,” Ryn admits sheepishly. “I got distracted. It’s Assistant Bear’s fault.”

That evening, Brainy joins Lyle and Ryn in their nightly tradition of reading bedtime stories. Tonight, it’s a story about Superman and Krypto, the Super Dog. Ryn is completely worn out and falls asleep halfway through the story, despite trying his best to stay awake. Lyle and Brainy sit together and watch him sleep for a while.

“You told me once that your name means ‘idealistic’ in Coluan,” Lyle murmurs to his boyfriend. “I was wondering – does Ryn’s name have a meaning?”

“Well, Ryn doesn’t mean anything by itself,” Brainy replies. “However, I believe it’s actually short for a Coluan saying, ‘Ryn nann.’ It doesn’t have an exact translation; it’s a concept developed by ancient Coluan philosophers.”

“A concept of… what?” Lyle asks, confused.

Brainy purses his lips thoughtfully. “I think it’s most similar to the Earth idea of ‘salvation.’”

Salvation seems like an odd thing to name a child. Lyle puzzles about the significance, trying to put the puzzle pieces together. “It’s strange that she would name him that,” he speaks out loud. “I didn’t think she was the type to care much about salvation.”

“She can’t feel.” Brainy’s voice sounds brittle as he speaks. “Except, she can feel when she causes others great distress, and whatever that feeling is, she enjoys it because it’s the only thing she knows. She’s desperate to understand and experience emotion. That’s why she tried to kill me. Killing her own son made her feel intense emotion. So therefore, Ryn, her personal punching bag, is also her redemption, in a sense.”

“That’s a messed up way of looking at salvation,” Lyle murmurs. He reaches over and takes one of Brainy’s hands in his own. “She can’t hurt either of you any more, you know.”

His lover nods, but stares blankly at the wall. “I just can’t help feeling sorry for her,” he admits. “When she had me, it was because she thought having a child would make her feel something. But I didn’t make her feel anything at all. I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me, because I couldn’t help her.”

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the beautiful, brilliant young man that Lyle is hopelessly in love with. Querl Dox is nothing short of amazing. And he’s told Brainy so many times how amazing he is, but Brainy spent his childhood thinking he wasn’t good enough for his own mother and he just can’t get that idea out of his head.

“It’s the same with Ryn, isn’t it?” Lyle asks gently. “He couldn’t save her either. But you wouldn’t say it’s his fault, would you?”

Brainy’s gaze turns to the boy in the bed, sleeping soundly. “Of course not,” he says quietly. “Ryn is… He’s beautiful.”

“Now you know how I feel about you.” Lyle leans in and kisses Brainy’s cheek. “So you can stop blaming yourself, and think about all the other people you’ve saved; myself included.”

~TBC


	4. Bruised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as happy with this chapter as I've been with past chapters. Still, I got it all written, better to just get it out there! Enjoy!

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 4: Bruised**

 _The world won’t turn until something breaks_

 _Who will make the first last mistake?_

 _You say that good things come to those who wait_

 _Into the spiral, your world and my world_

 _It’s never final, love just leaves you bruised_

-          **_Ben Folds, “Bruised”_**

Querl is working at the hospital when he gets the call from Lyle. It’s actually the third call he’s gotten from Lyle in the past hour but he’s been busy, and he ignored the previous two. It’s not like Lyle to call him repeatedly at work unless something is wrong, so Querl answers the third time.

“Lyle, this is not a good time,” he starts, but Lyle’s hysterical voice cuts him off.

“Brainy, you gotta’ come home, okay?” Lyle says, and it sounds like he’s crying. Lyle never cries. “It’s Ryn. I don’t know why, but he’s just… I can’t do anything with him. He keeps screaming for his mother and he’s pulling his hair and pinching himself, Grife, he had a knife earlier but I took it from him. I don’t know what to do.”

In the background, Querl can hear Ryn’s screaming. Lyle is gently hushing the boy through his tears, whispering soothing words, but nothing is calming the boy down.

“I’ll be home in twenty minutes,” Querl says firmly. “Lyle, just try to keep him from hurting himself.”

He’s never been in such a hurry to leave his work. He apologizes to his coworkers as he rushes out the door, but doesn’t have time for more of an explanation.

When he reaches the apartment, he finds Lyle in the kitchen floor, holding onto a screaming, struggling Ryn. Lyle has the boy’s hands pinned now, but there are marks all over Ryn’s arms and face where he must have pinched himself until he bled.

“I don’t know what happened,” Lyle whispers, tears still running down his face. “He was taking a nap, he was fine, and then he just started screaming.”

There’s a kitchen knife lying in the floor a few feet away. Querl’s stomach lurches at the sight of it.

“Ryn?” Querl drops to his knees beside his boyfriend and his little brother. “Ryn, it’s Querl. Will you please calm down?”

“I. Want. Mother!” Ryn screeches at the top of his lungs, taking in deep, shuddering breaths between each word. “I want mother! You said I could see her, you liar, liar, liar!”

“Baby, you gotta’ breathe, you’re going to make yourself sick,” Lyle begs. “Please, Ryn, just calm down. We love you so much, don’t do this.”

Querl has had enough of this. He will not stand by and let Ryn hurt himself like this, and he will not let Ryn cause Lyle so much distress. “Ryn! This nonsense will stop this minute, young man!”

Almost immediately, Ryn’s screams quiet. He looks at Querl finally; his eyes wide and full of surprise and a little fear. Querl hasn’t wanted to be rough with the boy, but sometimes it is necessary to lay down the law. This incident is too much.

“Do you understand what you’re doing?” Querl snaps. “You are hurting yourself, and you are hurting Lyle. Do you understand that this behavior is unhealthy? If you want to see your mother, all you have to do is ask me. Throwing a fit like this is immature and unacceptable. I will not tolerate it.”

Ryn sniffs, looking dazed and confused. He nods, nonetheless. “S-Sorry, Querl,” he manages through hiccupping sobs, “I-I d-didn’t mean t-to hurt L-Lyle. L-Love him so m-much.”

“I love you too, baby, I do.” Lyle’s face is completely red and soaked in tears. He hugs Ryn close. “It’s okay, I promise.”

Between the two of them, they manage to get Ryn cleaned up. Querl administers a salve to the pinch marks on the boy to speed the healing process. It’s midday but they crawl into bed with Ryn between them, both wrapped protectively around the little boy because they’re both terrified of leaving Ryn alone now and the image of the kitchen knife stands out starkly in Querl’s mind.

Querl knows they’re lucky they haven’t had incidents like this all along with Ryn. He’s only been with them a few weeks, but it’s been a relatively calm few weeks and Querl has gotten too comfortable with how normal and sweet Ryn has been.

“Why did he do that?” Lyle asks helplessly, his eyes fixed on the little boy sleeping between them. “I just don’t understand.”

“He’s just confused,” Querl says with a sigh. “Who knows how his brain works? You and I assume that he should be happy he’s not being hurt anymore, but Ryn never really understood that Mother was treating him unfairly. He loves her, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”

“Maybe we should try to get him to talk to someone,” Lyle suggests. “Dr. Ryk’rr was always wonderful to us. Maybe she’d be able to help Ryn deal with some of this. Brainy, I just don’t know how to help him. I know… I know what it’s like to be hurt by someone you love, but Ryn is so devoted to his mother. I just… I don’t know.”

Calling Dr. Ryk’rr is an option that Querl can’t justify writing off completely. The psychologist did help him a great deal when he was younger. If he absolutely had to pick a professional that he trusted to have only Ryn’s best interests in mind, it would definitely be her.

“We’ll talk about it,” he agrees reluctantly. “If it’s for the best, we’ll do what we must.”

\--

The first step is a trip to Takron Galtos. It’s the last place Querl wants to take Ryn, but it’s what his brother wants and Querl will do just about anything at this point to avoid a repeat performance of the scene in the kitchen.

Lyle wanted to come with them but Querl refused. To his knowledge, Lyle has never met his mother, and Querl would rather it stayed that way. He doesn’t know how his mother would behave towards his boyfriend, and Lyle has had enough drama lately.

They schedule the visit beforehand, so there is a visitation room set up for them when they arrive. The guards tell Querl that they will be just outside the door the whole time and they will be monitored on cameras as well. Brainiac 4 will be restrained throughout the meeting.

Her hands are fully encased in a topnotch restraint, which is in turn restrained to the table she is sitting at. Querl stands in the doorway for a long moment, Ryn in his arms, and considers whether or not he should really be here. Then Ryn is squirming in his hold and Querl is forced to let him down.

“Mother!” Ryn exclaims, running over to the woman and clambering up into her lap like there’s nothing at all to be afraid of. He wraps his arms around her neck and hugs her tight. “I missed you so much!”

“Ryn, darling, I see that you’re well.” A smile spreads across Brainiac 4’s face. Despite that, her tone is cold. “Your mother has missed your presence as well.”

She looks over at Querl and raises her eyebrows. “Querl, are you just going to stand over there or are you going to come over and say hello?” she asks him.

Querl hesitantly shuffles over to the table and sits down on the other side of it. He watches his mother warily. “Ryn wanted to see you. You are under no obligation to talk to me if you do not wish to,” he says, because he’d just as soon not talk to her at all.

“Don’t be silly, of course I want to talk to both of my children.” Brainiac 4 cranes her neck to press a quick, light kiss to Ryn’s cheek. “Ryn, be a good boy and sit by your brother. You’re making him very nervous.”

Obediently, Ryn climbs down and goes to sit beside Querl. Querl is relieved to have the boy near him, and he takes Ryn’s hand in his own, squeezing it gently.

“How are you?” he asks the woman awkwardly.

“I am… bored,” Brainiac 4 replies, shrugging her shoulders. “However, I have been allowed to work on a new drug for my condition, under strict supervision, and it seems to be having an effect.”

“You mean you’re starting to feel things?” Querl asks, not sure if he believes her.

Again, she shrugs her shoulders. “More and more all the time, but still not very much. However, today I must say that I am feeling somewhat pleased to see you both. And I am surprised that the two of you look so much alike, though I shouldn’t be. You both have my hair, don’t you?”

Querl is not sure how long they should stay, or what Ryn is hoping to get out of this visit. He doesn’t want to cut things short, because that would upset Ryn, but it makes him uncomfortable to be around her. For years, he never visited her because he was terrified to be in the same room as her.

“Do you… regret anything?” he asks her. “I mean, what happened the last time I saw you. Do you regret that?”

“I do not understand that emotion,” she tells him honestly. “Though, it is unlikely that I would do it again, so you should stop being so frightened of me.”

He cringes, wishing she hadn’t spoken it out loud. He’s immensely grateful for the space between them.

“Tell me about yourself, Querl. The last I heard of you, you were still part of your little Legion. However, by your current attire, I assume you’re no longer in that line of work.” She nods her head in his direction, referring to the very human black turtleneck and blue jeans he is wearing.

Querl shifts uncomfortably and shrugs his shoulders. “I retired from the Legion. My boyfriend and I purchased and apartment in Metropolis. I’m interning at Metropolis Medical Center.”

He keeps it all very brief, because he’d rather not tell her any more than he absolutely has to. Even restrained as she is here, the fear that she’ll escape again still lingers in the back of his mind, and if she thinks he is vulnerable, what will stop her from coming after him again?

“You have a lover?” This information seems to intrigue Brainiac 4. She leans forward, her eyes glinting with curiosity. “When I last saw you, I remember that you had some impressively loyal friends who came to your aid. I didn’t think you had anyone of romantic interest to you, however.”

“I wish you wouldn’t speak of that so casually,” Querl growls under his breath. “Perhaps it was of no significance to you, but it is a memory that I would just as soon forget.”

“Very well,” Brainiac 4 replies flippantly, as though she doesn’t really care. “Tell me of your lover, then. Does he appreciate you? Is he helping you raise Ryn?”

Ryn pipes up before Querl gets the chance to tell Brainiac 4 that it’s none of her business. “Lyle is awesome! He plays superheroes with me and the other day, we baked cookies! He reads me a story every night so I can fall asleep, and he takes me to the park and the comic book store.”

The ghost of a smile graces Brainiac 4’s face. “Well, if Ryn approves then I will take his word for it.”

“Lyle is a good person,” Querl agrees firmly. “He takes care of us.”

“Marry him, then. Be happy. Have a normal life.”

Querl frowns at her. “I wasn’t asking you for your approval.”

“I am giving you my blessing, son,” Brainiac 4 replies calmly. “There is no need to be hostile. I am not being hostile toward you.”

 “Please do not call me that.” Querl can’t help the icy tone he has taken with her. He doesn’t trust her, and will never be able to trust her, no matter if she learns to feel emotion or not. The memory of electricity coursing through his veins, of her laughter ringing in his ears while pain crippled him, is still too vivid, even years later.

“Son?” Brainiac 4 asks for clarification. “But you are my son.”

“No.” Querl stands up abruptly. “That’s enough. I came here for Ryn’s sake, not yours. Any claim you might have had to me, you renounced that day; do you understand me? I owe you nothing.”

Ryn watches Querl with wide eyes, apparently baffled by his older brother’s ire. Querl can’t possibly begin to explain. He doesn’t want to tell Ryn what their mother did. Ryn loves her so much, how can Querl justify telling him something like that? He’s just a little boy. He shouldn’t have to deal with all of Querl’s baggage. But even so, Querl can hardly bear to even look at Brainiac 4 now.

“You’re upsetting your brother,” the woman says. “You should sit down.”

The worst, most twisted thing about all this is that Querl still loves her. She has done nothing to deserve it at all, but he can’t help it. He craves her affection. If she could just smile at him, if she could just tell him that everything is alright now and she was wrong before, but now she does love him back…

“Ryn, five more minutes, okay?” he addresses his brother. “Lyle is waiting for us to get home.”

It’s lucky that Ryn has inherited the Brainiac genius. Any other toddler would not tolerate this. But Ryn regards Querl silently for a moment, perhaps taking in Querl’s distressed expression and the nervous way he holds himself, and then nods in understanding.

Querl stands by the door for the next few minutes listening to Ryn talk. Brainiac 4 is surprisingly patient with the boy, almost giving the illusion of caring about him, but Querl remembers the bruises that only recently faded from Ryn’s skin, and the way Ryn still flinches from sudden movements, and most importantly, the incident in the kitchen.

“Ryn, step outside now and let your brother and I talk in private,” Brainiac 4 says presently. “You’ll visit again. Be a good boy for your brother.”

It’s amazing how opinionated, headstrong Ryn will do exactly what Mother tells him to do, Querl thinks. The little boy blows Brainiac 4 a kiss (such an act of affection must have been taught to him by Lyle) and then hurries to obey. He lightly touches Querl’s hand as he leaves the room.

A sudden, irrational fear of being alone with Brainiac 4 grips Querl, and his legs feel weak. He takes a deep breath and lets it out, trying to calm his nerves.

“There is an important matter I wish to discuss with you,” Brainiac 4 says, her tone completely cold now. “Sit down, you look like you’re about to fall over.”

He forces himself over to the table again and sits down, watching the woman warily. “What is this important matter, then?”

“Who else knows about Ryn?” she asks him. “Aside from the old man who humors your eccentricities and this boy that you have taken up with.”

“Quite a few people,” Querl replies, trying to ignore the jabs she has made against his family. “The social workers who handled the case, the science police who found Ryn, mine and Lyle’s co-workers, and some of our old friends. ColuGov also found out. They tried to fight my claim to him but the matter was handled on Earth and Colu has no jurisdiction or sway there.”

Brainiac 4 frowns deeply. “It’s not surprising that they would try to get their hands on him. You must be very careful, then. There are people in this universe who would like to have access to a Brainiac. You and I are relatively safe, since we are both extremely difficult to manage. Ryn is just a child. It would be easy for someone to take advantage of him.”

“Why do you care?” Querl asks her suspiciously. “I find it hard to believe that you’ve suddenly become mother of the year.”

“My Ryn Nann is a very special boy.” She stares back across the table at him impassively. “As I am sure you have discovered.”

“Your salvation?” Querl sneers, because he can’t resist being a little nasty about it. It hurts to think that Ryn has somehow succeeded where Querl could not.

As always, she is not bothered by his display of emotion. “Remember your own name, Querl,” she reminds him calmly. “Because it suits you the same as Ryn’s suits him.”

Querl means “idealistic.” Only Mr. Brande and Lyle know that, no one else has ever asked. However, beyond the definition, he has never been able to figure out why she named him that. Does it mean that he, Querl, is some sort of ideal? Or is it representative of his life, spent fighting for perfection and the storybook happy ending?

“Can you see the future, then, Mother?” he asks her. “Or do your names hold some sort of _magic_ powers?”

“I am merely a good judge of character,” she replies, “and you let your emotions get the better of you too often.”

If he could just hate this woman, things would be so much easier. The one thing she knows nothing about is emotions, and yet here she is lecturing him on his ability to control them. She has never felt pain, or abandonment. She has no idea what it’s like in his head.

“One day,” he says as he stands back up, “I really do hope you know how it feels to love someone and never have them love you back.”

\--

In the middle of the night, Lyle is woken by screams. He sits straight up in bed, wide-eyed, and looks around for something out of place before he realizes that the screaming is coming from his bed partner. Brainy is tangled up in the blankets, fighting against them like they’re bonds. Lyle has never heard his lover make such anguished sounds before.

“Brainy! Hey, Brainy, it’s okay.” Lyle tries to pin Brainy to keep him from tangling himself further. The Coluan moans and writhes in his grip. “Wake up! Brainy!”

“No, no, mother,” Brainy whispers feverishly. “Please don’t, please, it hurts so much. I’m sorry. I love you. I love you.”

Lyle curses softly, wishing he hadn’t agreed to Brainy and Ryn visiting Brainiac 4 in prison. When they arrived home, Brainy was a mess and Lyle had known that the effects of the visit would make themselves known soon. Now here they are, and Brainy is caught in the throes of a nightmare that Lyle can’t seem to break through.

“Baby, Querl, please wake up.” Lyle lies down next to Brainy and wraps his arms around him. “She’s not here, okay, she’s not really here. Please, if you can hear me, you are safe. I promise you’re safe.”

Finally, Brainy comes out of the dream with a strangled gasp, his hands gripping Lyle’s shirt. He pants against Lyle’s shoulder, wild-eyed and confused.

“Lyle,” he murmurs after a few minutes of catching his breath. “Oh. I… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Hush, it’s okay,” Lyle replies, tenderly holding Brainy close. “Everyone has bad dreams sometimes. Are you alright now?”

“I think so.” Brainy shivers and presses closer to him. “It was just… very vivid. I haven’t had one that bad in years.”

The implication that Brainy still has nightmares is not lost on Lyle. He hasn’t thought about it, since Brainy has never woken Lyle like this before. Probably, he usually does not show any outward signs of distress during his nightmares. As with everything, Brainy no doubt internalizes them completely.

Brainy is still shaking all over, and Lyle holds tight to him as if he can somehow cure Brainy’s trembling by sharing his own solid strength. Maybe he can, because gradually Brainy seems to calm down, until at last he is just breathing in and out and all the tension drains from his body.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lyle asks softly. He feels Brainy shake his head. “It would probably be good to get it out in the open, though. You know you can trust me.”

Silence stretches between them, but Lyle knows Brainy is still awake. Brainy just doesn’t want to talk. This is not uncommon. It has always been difficult to get Brainy to open up. Before the Legion, Lyle suspects that Brainy didn’t really have anyone to talk to, and so learned to keep everything to himself.

“I could make us some tea,” he suggests. “We can sit in the living room for a while and talk.”

He gets neither an affirmative or negative response from Brainy, so he decides to take matters into his own hands. He presses a kiss to the top of Brainy’s head before untangling himself from his lover. “Alright, come on. I’m awake now, so I need some chamomile to get me back to sleep.”

Brainy silently follows him into the kitchen and sits down at the table. He looks so miserable, illuminated by the dim kitchen light and dressed only in shorts and a t-shirt for pajamas. Lyle wishes there was something he could do to make Brainy feel better, but tea will have to do for now.

“If you don’t want to talk to me,” Lyle begins as he waits for the water to heat, “I can call Dr. Ryk’rr for you in the morning and set up an appointment. Maybe you should have started going back to her when we moved anyway. I know retiring and getting a new job and all really shook you up.”

“Are you suggesting that I’m _fragile_ , Norg?” Brainy asks with a snort.

Lyle turns to look at Brainy with a huff. “Norg, huh? I thought we’d moved past last names. I do know you more intimately than anyone else, after all.”

Brainy’s cheeks blush dark green. He still gets embarrassed about sex, which Lyle thinks is unbearably cute.

“I’m just saying that maybe you’re uncomfortable talking to me,” Lyle says as he pours hot water into mugs for them both and adds teabags. “You’ve talked to Dr. Ryk’rr before. Maybe it would be easier for you to talk to her again. She knows a lot of stuff that you’d have to tell me about before I could really understand.”

There’s a soft thud as Brainy’s forehead connects with the kitchen table. “I don’t need to see a psychologist, Lyle. It was one nightmare.”

Logically, Lyle knows this. One nightmare doesn’t mean anything. Then again, they need to consult with Dr. Ryk’rr anyway about Ryn’s spell. In fact, Lyle thinks that maybe he’d benefit from talking to someone about all of this himself.

“What about a group session?” he suggests impulsively. “Maybe if it’s the three of us…”

“How about we just go visit Legion World instead?” Brainy suggests, arching an eyebrow. “Not that I want to go, particularly, but I thought maybe you would like to.”

Caught off guard by the suggestion, Lyle stands frozen for a moment before a smile slowly spreads across his face. “You know, I think that’s a good idea,” he agrees. “We could see some old friends, and Ryn would get to see what Legion World looks like.”

“Let’s plan for it, then.” Brainy stands and takes his mug of tea from Lyle. Sipping it carefully, he wanders from the kitchen to the living room and curls up on the couch. He seems surprisingly serene, Lyle thinks as he follows after his lover.

He curls up beside Brainy and they drink their tea together in silence.

TBC


	5. Is It Still Raining?

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 5: Is It Still Raining?**

 _It always rained around you_

 _We tried to go inside and it would rain there too_

 _It came pouring through the roof_

 _When we traveled underground_

 _Whiskey, water, and tears ‘til_

 _I thought that we would drown_

 _Jolene, is it still raining everywhere you are?_

 **  
_-The Weepies, “Jolene”_   
**

Cosmic Boy meets them when they arrive on Legion World, and Querl is immediately concerned by the excited expression on Rokk’s face when he sees Querl step off the cruiser. Querl’s suspicions are confirmed when his former teammate immediately unleashes a barrage of questions before even saying hello.

“Mr. Brande said you have a _kid_ , Brainy, and I just have to know, is it true? I mean, technically he’s your little brother, right? Not that it’s any of my business, but do you have any idea how _weird_ the idea of _you_ being a parent is?”

It’s too bad Rokk is technically Querl’s friend, because sometimes Querl really just wants to punch him square in the jaw. Rokk has never rubbed Querl the right way – probably that ‘natural born leader’ vibe Rokk has going for him. Querl is not a leader himself, but he’s not a follower either, and he’s always had a problem with authority. Especially Rokk’s authority.

Lyle steps out of the cruiser behind Querl with Ryn perched on his shoulders. The little boy suddenly lets out a loud “whoop” sound, his eyes big and round as saucers.

“It’s a real hero! He’s really real, in his real superhero suit and everything!” Ryn exclaims. “Oh wow, I finally get to see a real superhero!”

Why, oh why, did the first “really real” superhero that Ryn saw have to be Rokk?

“Ryn, your brother and I are real superheroes too,” Lyle reminds the boy.

“Yeah, but you don’t wear cool superhero suits anymore like you used to,” Ryn says dismissively. He’s still gazing at Rokk adoringly, like he’s just discovered the Holy Grail. “You’re Cosmic Boy! I read about you in books! You used to work with Querl and Lyle!”

Rokk looks entirely too pleased over this whole situation. “Hey, that’s right!” he replies cheerfully. “And you must be Brainy’s little brother, Ryn! Let me tell you, you look just _exactly_ like your big brother – only you’re a lot cuter than he ever was.”

Lyle snickers. Querl discretely kicks him in the shin.

“I want to be just like Querl when I grow up,” Ryn declares proudly, obviously delighted to be told of his resemblance to Querl. “I’m going to be a superhero too!”

“That’s awesome! Tell you what, if you’re going to be a hero, you’ll need to know your way around here! I’ll give you the grand tour!” Rokk offers, maybe because he knows Querl would much rather he didn’t.

Oh Grife, this day just keeps getting better and better. Querl hopes that Ryn doesn’t decide “Cosmic Boy” deserves poster space on his bedroom wall, because Querl will have to put his foot down for that one. There will be no pictures of Rokk plastered on the walls of his home, thank you very much.

He shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans and sulkily follows Rokk and Lyle at a distance as they show Ryn around. This is possibly the first time he’s ever actually missed his uniform; it did sort of make him look more impressive, and surely Ryn would not be nearly so in awe of Rokk’s uniform if he saw Querl’s old uniform up close. Then again, Rokk’s uniform is maybe a little cooler, with its little accents and such, but Querl’s was designed for practicality, not glamour.

“Oh my Grife, it’s an itsy bitsy Brainy!” a familiar voice shrieks when they enter the main lobby. Spark practically trips over her own feet in her haste to reach them. “You are so _cute_! You look just like Brainy, wow, the resemblance is uncanny!”

This coming from a member of a race of identical twin siblings, Querl thinks with amusement.

“Well, he’s my little brother, of course he looks like me,” he says, folding his arms across his chest. “Ryn, this is Ayla Ranzz, also known as Spark. Ayla, this is Ryn.”

Ayla reaches a hand out to Ryn, who shakes it eagerly. “You’re really pretty,” Ryn chirps. “Your hair is a really nice color!”

“Aw, thank you!” Ayla says with a grin. “You’re pretty dashing, yourself! You know, everyone here has been really excited to finally meet you! We all worked with your brother.”

“I know! I read a book about it!” Ryn is quick to explain. “I know all about the Legion, because I want to be a Legionnaire like Querl someday!”

Querl knows the smile on his face is a little smug, but he can’t help it. Only a moment ago, he’d been worrying about his status as Ryn’s “hero” being threatened by his admittedly impressive former coworkers. Apparently, he has nothing t worry about.

“Like Querl, huh?” Ayla is grinning, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Querl fixes her with a stern look, telling her without words that if she makes any comments about how being “just like” him might not be such a good idea, he’ll personally see to her execution.

She takes the hint. “Well, that’s some big shoes to fill!” she says. “Brainy here could outsmart pretty much any problem we ever came up against.”

That’s not entirely true, but Querl doesn’t correct her. It’s nice of her to say it, anyway. And it serves to properly impress Ryn, whose eyes are even bigger than they were before and he turns that adoring gaze on Querl. Querl melts a little inside.

The positive response from all the Legionnaires is very nearly overwhelming. Everyone wants to meet Ryn, and everyone tells Querl and Lyle how happy they are for them. It all reminds Querl of that first time Imra and Garth brought the twins to Legion World and everyone gushed over them and loved them. At the time, it had seemed like a crazy, unattainable notion to have what Imra and Garth had.

As the day passes, people start telling Querl that he seems happier. This is probably what surprises him the most, because he hadn’t really thought about it before. Is he happier now? Has he really achieved that holy grail of goals, happiness? Certainly, when Ryn and Lyle are happy, Querl is happy too. But there have been low points too; everything is not picture perfect.

The one part of Legion World that Querl really wants to see again is his lab. However, their unofficial guide, Rokk, has been avoiding the lab all day. He changes the subject when Querl brings it up, and changes direction when he realizes they’re close to that particular room. Finally, Querl just announces loudly that he’d like to see what’s become of _his_ laboratory.

Rokk visibly cringes but shrugs his shoulders and leads them to the lab. He pauses outside the door and looks sheepishly at Querl. “Okay, so here’s the thing; we haven’t really found anyone else who can, you know, actually operate your lab. We tried, but it just didn’t work. So, uh, we’re kind of using it as a storage room.”

Querl is dumbfounded. “A _storage room_?” he repeats in disbelief. He just really can’t believe that his lab, once the capital of “please, Brainy, fix this for me” and “sprock, Brainy, we need a miracle cure!” has been so neglected. He’d expected them to find a replacement for him, though why he thought that would be easy is beyond him now.

“Yeah, um, well,” Rokk stammers, at a loss for words. “We, uh… We were going to contact you about it, actually. We were hoping you could help us find a replacement for you. Actually, we really need two replacements. Lyle’s sorely missed in the espionage team, and this lab operates best when there are two brains in it, really.”

“I, uh, don’t think you’ll be able to just replace the both of us as, you know, a pair,” Lyle speaks up. “I mean, it took Brainy and I years before we finally clicked. Chemistry like that takes time. But, of course, we’re happy to help if we can.”

“We can’t actively look,” Querl objects. “We’re happy to overview candidates, Rokk, but we have a lot of responsibilities right now.”

He just can’t imagine adding another chore to his workload. As it is, the hospital wears him out and he stays worried about Ryn and his mother. Lyle already thinks he’s crazy and needs professional help (and maybe that’s true). If he was actually in charge of finding two new recruits for the Legion, it would just be too much.

Maybe he looks a little frazzled, because Rokk actually claps him on the shoulder and gives him a sympathetic look. “You know, whatever you guys can do, we’ll appreciate. I understand that you’ve got a lot on your plates. I mean, you retired. The Legion isn’t your job anymore.”

“Right,” Querl agrees. He stares at the still closed door of his lab and contemplates whether or not he really needs to see what it looks like. “Well then, I guess the tour’s over. We’ll bring Ryn back to see the lab when it’s up and running.”

Ryn whines in protest, but Querl shakes his head, refusing to back down.

He’ll bring Ryn back here eventually, of course. Maybe one day Ryn will be the one taking over Querl’s former position, though Querl truly hates the thought of Ryn being a hero because he knows how dangerous the job is. Legionnaires have died. Ryn would be putting his life on the line. Then again, it’s not Querl’s place to tell Ryn what he can and can’t do once he is of age.

To make up missing the lab to Ryn, they spend some time exploring the gym. Ryn is plenty excited by this, which everyone, including Querl himself, thinks is funny. Out of all the Legionnaires, Querl and Lyle are probably the least athletic. Neither of them ever used the gym much. However, Ryn has this idea in his head that all heroes train regularly. Good, Querl thinks. Maybe he’ll take combat training more seriously than Querl did. There were plenty of instances when it would have come in handy for Querl.

Finally, it’s time to go home. There are lots of hugs (mostly for Ryn) and there are teary goodbyes, and even a few people begging Querl to come back to the job, because there’s no one to fix anything mechanical anymore. Querl sort of likes the notion that they want him back, but he’s not at all interested in taking them up on the offer, even if his lab has fallen into disrepair.

The truth is, it was a nice visit but Querl is happy to be going home. He hasn’t noticed before now, but he doesn’t much like having to share Lyle’s attention anymore. In their apartment, it’s like their own little world. Querl likes it that way.

On the ride home, Querl slumps against Lyle’s shoulder, though he wouldn’t normally initiate such contact out in public. Lyle doesn’t act surprised; he just smiles and wraps an arm around Querl.

\--

“I don’t see the point in this,” Brainy grumbles, tugging at the collar of the nice polo shirt Lyle has forced him into. “There are lots of pictures of the three of us. You have your own camera.”

It was Lyle’s idea to get a family portrait done. Maybe it’s old-fashioned, but Lyle wants the portrait to hang in the living room. He wants a wallet sized copy to take out and show to people, so he can say “look here, this is what my family looks like, aren’t they cute?”

Brainy does not understand the appeal at all. He’s been complaining about it ever since Lyle decided they had to do it, and it seems like he’s not ready to give up trying to get out of it yet, even though they’re about to head to the photography studio. Ryn, on the other hand, is very excited and even dressed himself this morning in his favorite Superman shirt in preparation.

The Superman shirt has been a bit of a hot topic. Lyle thinks it’s adorable that Ryn idolizes Superman. Brainy respects Superman a great deal (and is even a bit of a Superman history buff) but seems to think that it’s not quite right for a Dox to be wearing a Kryptonian crest. Lyle has written this off as Brainy being an old fogey, which Brainy does not appreciate.

“Would you rather he was dressing like Brainiac?” Lyle has asked that morning, putting a hand on his hip.

Brainy had mumbled something back about how the Brainiac line was prestigious, despite being started by a super villain. This is certainly true, Lyle is willing to admit, and he wants Ryn to appreciate his heritage, but in Lyle’s mind, Superman is an important part of Ryn’s heritage as well. Superman is important to all of them.

“Next thing I know, you’ll be joining the Church of the Last Son, or whatever nonsense they’re calling it,” Brainy had sneered when Lyle tried to explain. “He wasn’t a god, you know. He was a man, like you and me.”

Lyle knows that. It’s not that he worships Superman like some sort of deity. In fact, it’s somehow better that Kal-El was really just a person, with a heart and mind like everyone else, because it gives Lyle hope for people and hope for the future.

Now Brainy is scowling at his reflection in the mirror, his shoulders slouched. He hates to dress up, Lyle knows. It is murder trying to get him into a suit, so Lyle decided to go with a more casual look but he still wants them all to look nice for the picture.

“Calm down, B,” Lyle intones gently as he is tying his shoe laces. “It won’t take long.”

Brainy glances over his shoulder at Lyle and narrows his eyes, which Lyle can’t help thinking is cute. “I’m not good at smiling on command,” he says flatly.

“Oh, but you’re Brainiac 5! You can do anything better than anyone else!” Lyle rises from his seat on the bed, grinning. He goes over to Brainy and puts his arms around his boyfriend from behind, propping his chin on Brainy’s shoulder. “You look nice.”

He gazes fondly at their reflection in the mirror. Brainy is so lovely, Lyle could just stare at him all day sometimes. However, he knows that Brainy doesn’t personally think of himself as being very attractive. Despite Brainy’s immense arrogance when it comes to his intelligence, he is not so self-assured in other areas.

Brainy sags against him, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Suddenly, he is beautiful and tragic all in one. Lyle hugs him tighter and presses a kiss to his cheek. _Poor, crazy, worn out Querl,_ he thinks to himself. If Lyle wasn’t here to look out for him, what would Brainy do? By now, he probably would have unraveled completely. Few people seem to realize how fragile he is.

“I love you,” Lyle murmurs. “You know that, right?”

“You’re always asking me that.” Brainy opens one eye to look at him. “It still makes very little sense to me, but considering that I love you back, I suppose it makes things much more convenient.”

“Oh, you brat,” Lyle teases, laughing as he draws away. “Come on then, let’s get this over with and you can go back to wearing sweater vests, okay?”

“Nothing wrong with sweater vests,” Brainy defends half-heartedly as he follows Lyle. “No sillier than this shirt you have me wearing. I’m just grateful to gave up the white shirts and bowties idea.”

Lyle maintains that Brainy would have looked adorable, but it would have been harder to get Brainy to wear a bowtie than a regular suit and Ryn wouldn’t have been able to wear his Superman shirt. Choose your battles wisely, as Mr. Brande would say.

They ride the bus to the studio. Ryn sits on Lyle’s lap the whole way but keeps his face plastered to the window as he stares out at everything they pass by. Knowing how Ryn likes to explore, Lyle sometimes regrets that they live in the city like they do. It would be nice to live out in the country where Ryn would have plenty of room to run and play and grow.

He has not mentioned this to Brainy – it’s at least a battle for another day.

An older lady sitting across from them smiles kindly. “It’s so nice to see a young family,” she tells Lyle. “Your son is beautiful.”

Brainy looks terribly embarrassed but Ryn apparently wasn’t paying attention and doesn’t correct the woman, so Lyle doesn’t correct her either. She’s not far off base anyway. Ryn might as well be theirs; they’re raising him, after all, and he’s the spitting image of Brainy. Little brother or son, it’s really all the same, isn’t it?

The lady gets off at the next stop and man and woman take her place, both human and in their late forties. They have less than pleased expressions on their faces, especially when looking at Brainy, which irritates Lyle. On rare occasion, Lyle has run into anti-alien humans on Earth, but he has very little tolerance with them.

“Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” he says in an attempt to be friendly, since the couple is clearly not going to make the effort themselves.

“Yes, it’s been nice,” the man agrees, uncomfortable but not willing to be rude enough to ignore Lyle completely. “We’ve just been to visit Marianne’s family, and we were glad it didn’t rain.”

The woman, Marianne, regards Lyle critically. “You’re human, aren’t you?” she inquires, her nose upturned ever so slightly. “Where are you from, then?”

“Oh, well, we live here in Metropolis,” Lyle replies, ignoring her question about his species. “Querl here works at Metropolis Medical Center as an intern. We’re going to get a family portrait done today, actually.”

Ryn turns away from the window, intrigued by the conversation. He grins and looks up at Lyle adoringly. “And I get to wear my Superman shirt!” he chirps.

“How old is your son?” the man asks curiously. “Five or so?”

“Three,” Ryn corrects him. “I’m _precocious_ for my age.”

“He’s Coluan,” the woman says, and the words sound like they pained her greatly to speak them. She frowns even more.

Ryn is, in addition to being precocious, also very intuitive. He immediately notices the woman’s tone and attitude. “My mom’s Coluan, but I’m a citizen of Earth,” he tells her, puffing out his little chest. “And my brother’s a citizen too.”

The woman scoffs at this and her husband places a hand on her knee. “Now, Mari, it’s none of our business.”

“Having the paperwork doesn’t stop them from being aliens,” the woman insists stubbornly. “It’s plain as day; they’re _green_ , Alan.”

“And you have inferior genetics, but we still have to share a bus with you,” Brainy sneers viciously. He’s been quiet up until now, but he’s not the type to take this sort of thing lying down. “The color of our skin indicates only that we are probably a lot smarter than you are.”

This elicits a scandalized gasp from the woman and several other people on the bus, “alien” and “human” alike, turn to look at them. “This is exactly why your sort shouldn’t be tolerated!” Marianne declares haughtily. “You’ve no decency at all!”

“And I suppose you think it’s decent to tell a three year-old boy that he’s an alien and to imply that being _green_ , as you put it, keeps him from deserving his status as an Earth citizen?” Brainy demands. “As I recall, it was you who threw the first stone.”

Lyle glances at Brainy worriedly. “It’s alright, B. Just let it go.”

He’s as pissed as Brainy is but he knows that arguing with the woman isn’t going to do any good and he doesn’t want a confrontation right now, in front of Ryn. Ryn hasn’t been exposed to this attitude before and he’s visibly confused and worried by the whole situation.

“Marianne, dear, let’s not make a scene,” the man says, squeezing his wife’s knee again. “We’ll reach our stop soon.”

Both Marianne and Brainy quiet and commence to glaring at one another. Ryn watches them, looking back and forth at each of them. Finally, he breaks the silence by announcing, “But my book that Lyle bought for me says that Superman was a citizen of Earth, even though he was born on the planet Krypton.”

This startles the couple, and Lyle and Brainy too. The man, Alan, looks shocked for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Quite right, Marianne, Superman was both, wasn’t he? Who knows, this lad could be a superhero one day too.”

“My brother and Lyle are superheroes,” Ryn informs him with a scowl. “They used to be in the Legion of Superheroes. There’s a book about them too. I have a copy, if you would like to borrow it.”

Smiling, Lyle reaches his hand out to the man. “Invisible Kid, at your service,” he says cheerfully.

“Brainiac 5,” Brainy says flatly without offering his own hand.

The man shakes Lyle’s hand hesitantly. “I… I see. Well, Marianne, it seems we’re in the presence of celebrities. You know, boys, our grandson is a big fan of the Legion.”

Marianne has turned bright red and she pointedly refuses to shake Lyle’s hand when he offers it to her. In the meantime, quite a few of the other passengers have edged closer to get a better look at the “celebrities.” Probably the only thing stopping people from asking for autographs at this point is the situation and the look on Brainy’s face.

When the bus stops again and Marianne and Alan rise to get off, the woman looks directly at Brainy with an icy glare. “I do remember Superman,” she says. “He’s not the only alien that this world hasn’t yet forgotten, _Brainiac_.”

Lyle starts to rise from his seat immediately, but Brainy grabs his arm and shakes his head. Despite the urge to throttle the woman, Lyle backs down at his boyfriend’s request and just glowers at the couple as they leave. He reaches over and grabs Brainy’s hand in his and squeezes it.

“Don’t listen to that crap,” he says firmly. “There are plenty of people who know how much you’ve done.”

“Plenty of people still define me by him,” Brainy says, staring blankly ahead instead of looking at Lyle. “We should be able to ride the bus without being harassed. We should… we should not be judged for _his_ actions.”

Brainy’s voice remains level and calm as he speaks, but Lyle can see that he’s shaking. So much for a pleasant family outing, Lye thinks. And really, don’t they deserve the opportunity to live as a normal family? Shouldn’t they, as Brainy says, be able to ride the bus without getting hassled about it?

Ryn has been quiet for a while now, so Lyle glances worriedly at him. The boy is staring out the window, his normally bright countenance somewhat crestfallen.

“You okay?” Lyle murmurs, releasing Brainy’s hand so he can wrap his arms around Ryn. “Sweetie, you can’t listen to people like that. They just want something to be mad about and we were easy targets.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ryn says, but he sniffs slightly. He turns around and rests his cheek against Lyle’s chest. “They shouldn’t be mean to you guys, though. You were superheroes. And you’re the best. I love you guys.”

“We love you too,” says Brainy, and he leans over to kiss the top of Ryn’s head. “Don’t worry. Lyle and I don’t mind if people say things like that sometimes. We are too logical to let it bother us.”

This manages to cheer Ryn up, at least, but Lyle watches Brainy suspiciously. It’s an established fact that Brainy does not just bounce back from these sorts of things. Of course he’s still upset about it; he’s just hiding it for Ryn’s sake and bottling it up.

Lyle wishes that Brainy could just tell him when he’s upset, or let him help somehow, but Brainy cannot accept help from other people. Even after so many years in the Legion, Brainy’s problems are his own. He doesn’t share his troubles. He keeps it all to himself and who knows if he ever actually deals with it? Maybe he just locks it away in his mind somewhere.

The bus reaches their stop and there’s no time or opportunity to question Brainy more closely before they reach the photography studio. For his part, Brainy doesn’t let his bad mood show in the picture. Of course, he doesn’t smile on command either, but at least he doesn’t scowl. Ryn insists on posing like Superman in at least half of the shots.

Lyle is happy with the results. The studio will frame the portrait and ship it to them, but they have an envelope full of photos to take home; plenty to share with friends and family. And the bus ride home, at least, is not nearly so dramatic. When they get back to Metropolis, they walk to a nearby fast food restaurant for ice cream.

“Are you okay?” Lyle asks Brainy as they walk back home. Ryn has run ahead of them a little, this ice cream melting and running down his hand. He’s sure to be a sticky mess by the time they get back to their apartment.

“Of course,” Brainy replies as he absently licks at his chocolate ice cream. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Maybe Brainy thinks he’s covering his tracks by pretending he’s not at all bothered by the drama on the bus. However, Lyle would feel better if Brainy would just admit that it upset him. Everyone gets upset sometimes. Brainy doesn’t deal with it like he should.

“I just worry about you sometimes,” Lyle admits. Brainy rolls his eyes but Lyle continues. “No, I know you think I’m crazy. I just wish you would talk to me when you’re unhappy. I want to help you be happy, Brainy.”

Brainy looks at him with wide, earnest eyes.

“I am happy,” he replies.

And yet, somehow, Lyle still doesn’t think that he truly is.

~TBC


	6. The Art of Cruelty

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 6: The Art of Cruelty**

 _Caught between the silence and the storm_

 _Everyday a new religion’s born_

 _Oh, my life is a half-way house_

 _And I’m in doubt of ever getting out_

 **  
_-Lior, “The Art of Cruelty”_   
**

Every day, Querl rises early, long before Lyle wakes up. He takes a shower and then dons his hospital scrubs (pale blue and they wash his skin out something awful). Then he quickly eats a bowl of cereal and drinks a glass of orange juice for breakfast before he rushes out to catch his bus to work.

He told Lyle that the woman on the bus a few days ago didn’t bother him, but the truth is that it always irks him when he encounters someone with that attitude. It’s not the first time, and he hasn’t mentioned it to Lyle but there have been multiple incidents at the hospital involving patients or fellow employees. He has been trying to ignore it, but it hurts every time someone looks at him like he can’t be trusted or makes an uncalled for comment about his heritage.

Querl is proud of who he is, most days. There was a time, when he was younger, that he’d been ashamed of being descended from Brainiac, and for a long time he’d been ashamed that his mother had abandoned him when he was little, as if these things had any impact on what kind of a person he was or what he did with his life. But he is not a boy anymore. He has outgrown those fears; at least, he tells himself that he has.

At least in the Legion, he’d earned his colleagues’ respect. The other Legionnaires, even the ones who don’t much like him as a person, are now willing to admit that he was an asset to the team. Here on Earth, it’s amazing how disrespectful people can be. There’s more anti-alien sentiment amongst Earthlings than he’d realized.

He just doesn’t need this on top of everything else. Sitting on the bus, the feeling of people staring at him, his green skin, the symbols on his face, drives him crazy. Pompous attitudes from his coworkers have become harder and harder to deal with. Even the senior doctor he works under gives him a harder time than anyone else – always assigning him the dirty work and always ignoring him when he tries to answer questions during rounds.

Then there’s all the family drama he’s dealing with. His mother is back in Takron Galtos, Ryn is far from okay even though he seems happy most of the time, and Lyle keeps bringing up therapy (not for Ryn, for Querl). He knows he’ll never be able to do a thing for his mother, and he’s starting to wonder if there’s anything he can do for his brother. Lyle’s lack of faith in him is just… disappointing. He’d thought that he and Lyle were okay, at least. Maybe they’re not. Maybe there’s just something about living a domestic life that Querl can’t get right.

When he gets to the hospital, he tries to keep a low profile. He’s just so tired, and he doesn’t have the energy to deal with people. He just wants to get through the day and do his job without all the politics and bullshit that people like to fling around.

Of course, even with a low profile, he ends up changing multiple bedpans and resetting the IV for the older lady who’s losing her eyesight and her hearing and hates absolutely everyone (but seems to especially hate Querl). It takes forever to get her to hold her arm still long enough, and she complains about how much it hurts and how bad he is at his job.

“Aren’t they training you nurses properly anymore?” the woman demands.

Querl fixes her with his deadliest glare, finishes up placing the IV, and then stands up. “Actually, Mrs. Boris, I’m an intern,” he tells her. “If you need anything else, I’m Dr. Dox and please feel free to ask for me.”

He only extends that offer because he knows she won’t take him up on it and he wants to make sure she knows that he is most definitely not a nurse.

“They shouldn’t put your sort in charge of peoples’ health!” Mrs. Boris declares vehemently.

“My… sort?” Querl asks slowly. “Never mind. Have a nice day, Mrs. Boris.”

He escapes the room before he loses his temper. She’s just an old woman, he reminds himself. She hates everyone, not just him, so why does it matter if she makes a comment like that? But it does matter. It just reminds him that people here don’t respect or appreciate him.

It’s juvenile to hide in the bathroom, but that’s what he does. He locks himself in a stall and puts his head in his hands, trying to calm down. He thinks about calling Lyle. It would be nice to have some reassurance. But he can’t make himself call and admit to Lyle that things are not picture perfect. He wants to make Lyle happy and he wants to be happy with Lyle. Surely he can handle this job.

But he hasn’t really made any friends since they moved, and he feels stifled by his limitations as an intern. He has no laboratory to work in and life is simply not exciting like it was before, in the Legion. It drags on, day in and day out, and every day is miserable.

The funny thing is, when they went to visit Legion World, he spent the whole visit thinking about how much he likes his new life with Lyle and Ryn. And it’s true, he does like having a home with Lyle and of course he loves Ryn. He really is happy, some of the time, happier than he’s ever been. And then, the rest of the time, things are as miserable as they were when he first joined the Legion. Maybe even worse, because at least he was just a kid then and dealing with other kids. They all learned to understand each other as they grew.

Maybe it would be better to tell Lyle about these things. Part of Querl doesn’t want to make Lyle think that things are less than ideal, because Querl really does love Lyle. It took years to figure out, but Lyle is the best thing that has ever happened to him. And then again, part of it is just that Querl doesn’t want to admit that this plan isn’t as good as he’d originally thought it would be.

For one thing, he doesn’t especially like living in Metropolis. He likes having his own place, and he likes spending every evening with Lyle and Ryn in his own living room, but he thinks he’d like an actual house better than an apartment. There’s no privacy, living in the middle of Metropolis, and there’s not enough room. The living room is currently flooded with Lyle’s computers, Ryn’s toys, and Querl’s various experiments he’s been trying to do in the very little free time that he has.

Querl pinches the bridge of his nose and tries to get a hold of his emotions so he can get back to his job. If he doesn’t get back out there soon, someone will probably come looking for him. The last thing he needs right now is to be scolded for taking too much time off. Someone will likely jump on the first chance they get to imply that he, Brainiac 5, can’t handle the pressure of a real job. Well, he won’t give them the opportunity.

He soldiers through the rest of the day, and survives by reminding himself that his family is waiting for him when he gets home. Maybe Ryn has saved another planet today and will tell him all about it while they’re curled up on the couch, watching the news.

Of course, right when he thinks he’s made it through, someone needs his help with something last minute. He obliges. And then he rushes to get to the bus station in time, only to make it there just in time to see his bus zooming off into the distance.

For a minute, he just stands there staring incredulously at the vehicle as it rapidly disappears. There’s a loud cracking sound from above and he looks up to see storm clouds gathering. He clenches his jaw to keep from cursing loudly at his awful luck. He’ll just have to walk home. It won’t be that bad, he tells himself, and he needs the exercise anyway. Maybe he can make it before the rain sets in.

The only way to make it back before the rain is to take a shortcut through a rougher part of town that he usually tries to avoid. He draws his jacket around himself, pulling up the hood to hide his face, and sticks his hands in his pockets. There have been a few stories in the news about non-humans being attacked in Metropolis. It’s just safer to hide his green skin as best he can and keep his head down.

At first, there’s no trouble. There are a few people out on the street, but they give Querl a wide clearance and leave him alone. He’s starting to think he’s not going to get any trouble when he cuts through an alley. He hears a noise behind him and glances back suspiciously. A human male is following him at a distance; middle-aged and rough. He gives Querl the creeps but Querl just speeds up, hoping the man will lose interest.

The opening of the alley in front of him is suddenly blocked by two more men, who step in purposefully, their faces set in scowls. They’re both humans as well. Querl freezes, his hand immediately going to his pocket for his personal communicator.

“There’s a toll for passing through here,” one man tells him with a sneer. “But we don’t take money from _aliens_. So we’ll have to make you pay some other way.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” Querl replies as calmly as he can. “I’m just on my way home from work. If you’ll just let me through, there’s no need to involve Sci-Pol.”

The men step closer and Querl hears the third man coming up from behind him. He tries to back away from them and ends up backed against a wall. Quickly, he sizes the three of them up. One’s not much threat - a skinny kid probably no older than twenty. The other two are bigger than Querl and they look like they’re in better shape than he is.

He pulls his communicator out of his pocket to dial for help. One of the men lunges forward and grabs his wrist, forcing him to drop the communicator. Querl hisses in pain and tries to pull his hand free.

“You’re making this worse,” he warns through gritted teeth. He uses his free hand to push his hood down. “Do you know who I am? Do you want the full force of the United Planets coming down on you?”

They don’t seem very concerned. One of them even outright laughs – right before he strikes Querl across the face so hard that Querl’s head snaps to the side. He tastes blood in his mouth; the blow must have busted his lip.

The younger, scrawny one backs away a little. He’s probably more skittish about being involved in something like this; whatever “this” is.

“I think it’s time you stopped talking,” snarls the man who struck him. He shoves Querl’s shoulder roughly. “I don’t give a sprock who you are, greenie. I’m still gonna’ kick your ass, we clear?”

This is one of those instances when Querl really wishes he’d tried harder to learn combat skills in the Legion. Instead, he always hid behind his force shield belt. Now he doesn’t have his belt and he can’t fight these guys off either, so what’s he supposed to do?

He lets his shoulders slump and turns his gaze to the floor, hoping to give the impression that he’s given up. The one man’s hold on his wrist loosens a little. Excellent. Querl yanks his wrist free and then throws himself at the boy, knocking him backwards. The boy falls to the ground with a surprised shout and Querl scrambles to run past him. The boy’s hand shoots out and wraps around his ankle, sending Querl crashing to the pavement as well.

Querl catches himself on his hands, scraping his sensitive palms against the asphalt. He starts to push himself back up when one of the men sends a vicious kick into his ribcage, knocking the wind out of him. He crumples, gasping for breath.

“You think you can just come here, to _our_ planet, and take our jobs and live alongside our people like you _belong_ here?” one of them demands. “Your kind disgusts me! Do you hear me? Go back where you came from!”

Another kick to the ribs sends waves of pain rolling through Querl. He does his best to cover his head and face, trying to protect himself a little. Two of the men start kicking him at the same time, and Querl sucks in deep breaths as he tries to keep from crying out at the pain.

One of them grabs him by the arms and pulls him off the ground. He hurts too much to put up a real fight as the man holds him in place. The beating continues. A punch to his gut, another blow to his aching ribs, punches and slaps to his face until his mind barely recognizes what’s happening as anything more than a long string of pain.

He’s allowed to drop to his knees – his shaking legs won’t hold him up anymore. When he looks up at his assailants, his vision is swimming so badly that he can barely make them out. One of them grabs him by the chin, fingernails digging into Querl’s face.

“Not talking so much now,” he hears the man sneer. “Did you learn your lesson, greenie?”

Querl musters up what little strength he has left to spit at the man.

The man swears and strikes him across the face again. Querl’s whole body feels like it is made up of pain by now, so it makes little difference to him.

“I don’t think he understands yet,” the other man says. “Seems like he needs another lesson to me.”

Querl notes absently to himself that the younger man has not participated in this very much. However, he hasn’t tried to stop it, either.

A hand grips his chin again, turning his face upwards. Querl focuses his eyesight as best he can and realizes that he’s level with one man’s crotch. The sound of a zipper being pulled down alerts Querl to a much more serious problem and suddenly a rush of adrenaline gives him back some of his fight. He twists and squirms, trying to pull away.

“No!” he shouts, despite the broken nose he suspects that he has, which hinders his ability to speak coherently. “Let go! Let go of me!”

One of them catches hold of his left wrist in a tight hold but Querl keeps pulling and struggling to get free. The man twists his wrist cruelly until Querl here’s the sound of a bone snapping and white hot pain races up his arm. He screams it out, unable to hold back. And then he goes limp, realizing that he can’t fight against them any longer.

Someone is whimpering pitifully and it takes Querl a minute to realize that he’s making the sound himself.

“Dude, just let him go,” someone says. Querl barely makes out the words over the thundering noise in his ears. “You said we were just messing with him. This is too much.”

Whoever is currently holding him lets go of Querl. Querl crumples in a heap on the ground, cradling his broken wrist to his chest. One of the men starts yelling, and then the other two join in, but Querl can’t make out the words. He curls up as tightly as he can and prays that they’ll leave him alone now.

It’s a while before he realizes that he can’t hear the men anymore. He opens his eyes and looks around hazily, only to find himself alone in the alley. A little ways away, his communicator is lying on the ground, undamaged.

He somehow manages to painfully drag himself over to the communicator. Luckily, he has Lyle on speed-dial. He holds the communicator to his ear with his one remaining operable hand and hopes desperately that Lyle will pick up.

Two rings and Lyle picks up. “Querl? Where are you? Did you get held up at work?”

“Lyle,” Querl croaks out. “I need… I need help.”

“What happened? Where are you?” Lyle is instantly panicked, and for good reason. Querl never makes a big deal out of things unless it’s serious. And this is definitely serious.

“I was… attacked,” Querl manages to force out. He shivers, his entire body shaking. “I was walking home and three men stopped me. I need medical attention.”

“Just tell me where you are, B,” Lyle instructs gently. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

Querl rattles off his coordinates, hoping Lyle can figure out where exactly he is. Luckily, Lyle seems to understand.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” he says. “Try to stay awake until they get there, and tell them to take you to Metropolis Medical. I’ll meet you there. How badly are you hurt?”

“Some broken bones,” Querl mumbles tiredly. “I’ll survive.”

“Hang in there,” Lyle says. “I love you, Brainy. I’m going to be there soon, I promise.”

The sky chooses that moment to send rain pouring down.

\--

Lyle is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He calls an ambulance and tries to explain the situation as best he can, but Brainy didn’t give him all the details. All he really knows is that Brainy was attacked on his way home and it resulted in some broken bones, but Brainy sounded pretty out of it and it’s hard to tell what, exactly, happened.

Ryn is taking a nap, and Lyle has to wake him up because there’s no way he can leave the boy by himself considering he doesn’t know how long they’ll end up being at the hospital. He scoops Ryn out of his bed and hoists the child onto his hip, which causes Ryn to stir sleepily.

“Lyle?” the boy mumbles. “It’s still naptime…”

“I know, baby, I’m sorry,” Lyle soothes him. “We have to go to the hospital. Don’t freak out, okay? But Querl is hurt and we have to go make sure he’s okay.”

This wakes Ryn up and the boy clings to him tightly. “Querl is hurt?” he whimpers, confused. “How did Querl get hurt?”

How is Lyle supposed to answer that question? He can’t tell Ryn that someone actually hurt Brainy – that Brainy was _attacked_ – so what is he supposed to do?

“I don’t know yet, okay?” he says instead of telling Ryn what little he does know. “That’s why we have to go to the hospital. I’m sure everything is going to be okay, so don’t worry about it.”

He hates living in the city and not having his own car. The taxi he catches is not nearly fast enough. If they lived in a more rural area, it wouldn’t be nearly so hard to get to his boyfriend. If they lived somewhere else, this might not have happened at all. Why did it happen? Why would someone attack Brainy?

When he bursts in the emergency room, a sleepy toddler on his hip weighing him down, he’s completely frazzled and sick with worry. He stumbles over to the front desk and leans against it heavily. The woman behind the desk regards him with concern.

“My boyfriend was just brought in,” Lyle explains quickly. “Querl Dox. I called for an ambulance to bring him here.”

The woman types something into the computer quickly and then looks back up at him. “Yes, a Querl Dox was just brought in before you got here. You said you’re his boyfriend? What’s your name?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Lyle says, nodding. “We live together. My name’s Lyle Norg.”

“We don’t have you listed as his emergency contact,” the woman says, clicking her tongue. “The contact we have here is a Mr. R.J. Brande.”

Lyle somehow manages to keep from cussing. It just figures that Brainy never bothered to change that. Of course Lyle changed his own contact information, and if this situation were reversed, Brainy would have no trouble at all.

“I’m sorry,” says the woman, “but I can’t discuss his condition with you unless you’re a blood relative.”

“I’m his blood relative!” Ryn pipes up, trying to be helpful.

“Sorry, sweetie, you’re not old enough,” the woman apologizes. “But if the two of you will have a seat, I will make sure to let you know if he asks for you. He’s not currently awake but we’ll be sure to ask him about you when he wakes up.”

Lyle feels helpless as he takes a seat. He puts a hand over his mouth as he tries to keep from crying. How can this be happening? Brainy is badly hurt and no one can even tell Lyle what’s wrong. If they were married, this wouldn’t be a problem. But they’re not married, they’re not even engaged.

“Lyle?” Ryn climbs off Lyle’s lap and into an adjoining seat. “Is Querl going to be alright?”

“Yeah, baby.” Lyle nods faintly. “He’s going to be okay. He just got hurt, and we have to wait for the doctor to finish taking care of him.”

“But Querl _is_ a doctor,” Ryn objects. “Can’t he just take care of himself?”

Sometimes Ryn’s overly logical nature results in less than logical conclusions. Lyle has to smile a little at the question, because it’s always cute to see Ryn get himself confused.

“I think Querl’s asleep right now,” Lyle explains. “So he can’t do it himself. Someone else has to help him.”

“Oh.” Ryn seems dissatisfied with Lyle’s answer but accepts it. He falls silent, probably sensing that Lyle doesn’t really want to talk right now. He’s always been a very intuitive child.

It seems like hours pass before a doctor comes out to the waiting room and approaches them. Ryn has since fallen asleep in Lyle’s arms.

“Mr. Norg?” the doctor addresses him. “I understand that you are Dr. Dox’s boyfriend. He’s been asking for you. He’s awake now but I wanted to explain his condition to you before you see him, so you’ll know what to expect.”

Lyle nods. “I understand, Doctor. Is he going to be okay?”

“Absolutely,” the man reassures him with a gentle smile. He’s a big man, human, with dark hair and a beard. His eyes, bright blue, are very kind. “Querl suffered various injuries but none of them were life threatening. It appears he was assaulted by some person or persons. He has four cracked ribs. His left wrist was broken, but it’s a clean break and I can provide you with the X-rays so you’ll better understand. His nose was broken as well. Other than that, he has various minor cuts and bruises. In a few weeks time, he should make a full recovery.”

“Grife,” Lyle whispers, biting his lip. “Someone _beat_ him?”

“That’s what it looks like,” the doctor admits. “We tried to ask him about what happened but he didn’t want to talk about it when we first brought him in. Now that he’s awake, he just keeps asking for you. He might tell you more about what happened. Be prepared to hear something you might not want to hear. With violent crimes like this, there’s a lot of trauma involved for the victim.”

“Okay.” Lyle’s voice quavers but he nods again to show that he understands. “Can I see him now?”

“Just follow me,” the doctor instructs. Lyle does his best not to wake Ryn up as he stands to follow the doctor. The boy continues to sleep soundly in his arms, thankfully. The doctor leads Lyle back to an isolated hospital room. “Try not to make any sudden movements. Sometimes victims of this sort of crime are very skittish afterward.”

Lyle really wishes there was someone he could call to come and watch Ryn, but they don’t really know anyone close by. At least the boy’s asleep right now. This situation is stressful enough as it is without Ryn’s inevitable reaction to seeing his beloved Querl battered and bruised.

Despite the doctor’s warnings, Lyle is unprepared for the sight that greets him when he enters Brainy’s room. Brainy lying in a hospital bed is not an unfamiliar sight, particularly, considering the line of work they were in before. However, even in all the serious battles they’ve fought, Lyle has never seen Brainy quite this beaten down.

Bruises don’t show easily on Brainy’s skin, which makes it that much more obvious how bad the beating must have been, because Brainy’s face and arms are mottled in purple. His bottom lip is swollen, and his right eye is blackened. His left arm sports a heavy cast.

He looks up when Lyle enters the room and tries to smile, but fails because it obviously hurts him. “Hey,” he croaks out. “Sorry about this.”

“Don’t you dare apologize for this, Querl Dox,” Lyle snaps as he makes his way over to the bed. He sits down at Brainy’s bedside and reaches out to take his boyfriend’s good hand in his own free one. “Brainy, what happened to you? The doctor said it looked like you’d been beaten but he said you wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.”

Brainy’s expression darkens. “It was… just some stupid humans, trying to scare me. It’s not like I’ve never been punched before. This isn’t even the worst that’s ever happened to me.”

“What could possibly be worse than being cornered in an alley, defenseless, and getting the life beaten out of you?” Lyle demands, his throat tight and his eyes burning. He’s not going to cry, not when Brainy needs him to be strong.

“Lots of things,” Brainy replies flatly, looking Lyle in the eyes. “It was terrible, Lyle, it was. It could have been worse. I could have died, but I didn’t, and now it’s time to get on with my life and put it behind me. If I let this hurt me, then _they’ll win_.”

“This is not about winning,” Lyle says. “This is about the fact that someone almost killed you today, for no good reason! I could have lost you. Ryn could have lost you. And then when I got here, I wasn’t your emergency contact, so they wouldn’t talk to me until you woke up. I had no idea how bad it was and I just had to sit and wait for hours.”

Brainy looks surprised, and then sheepish. “I guess I didn’t think about changing it. I normally don’t bother with paperwork…”

“Well, you should.” Lyle takes a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. “I was just so scared, B. And you were just on your way home from work. It shouldn’t be that dangerous for you to just walk home.”

“What do you propose we do about it?” Brainy asks him with arched eyebrows. “It’s just the way things are. People don’t like aliens. They especially don’t like Brainiacs. Nothing is going to change that.”

Lyle knows this is true. There’s no way to keep the streets of Metropolis from being as dangerous as they are. There’s no way to change peoples’ mindsets. But there is something that they can do.

“Let’s move,” he suggests on impulse. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it lately, and maybe it would be better if we lived somewhere… smaller. Somewhere away from the city, where there’s plenty of room. We could get a dog and you could intern somewhere nearby for a while longer until you can set up a private practice. Ryn could have a yard to play in…”

“Lyle, slow down,” Brainy says, looking baffled. “Where’s all this coming from? Don’t you like living in Metropolis?”

“Well, yes, of course,” Lyle agrees. “But it’s more like… I just like living with you, Brainy. And I want you and Ryn to be safe.”

“Okay.” Brainy forces a smile, this one a little more genuine than the last one. “We’ll do whatever you want to do, Lyle. We’ll talk about moving.”

Lyle breathes a sigh of relief and nods.

“But we’re not getting a dog,” Brainy adds with a frown.

Laughter escapes Lyle and he leans forward to kiss Brainy’s forehead gently. “We’ll talk about that too.”

There were other things that had to be talked about. Whether he likes it or not, Lyle is going to make Brainy talk about the assault. Something doesn’t sit right with him. It feels like Brainy is hiding something from him that’s important. It’s going to mean arguments, Lyle sleeping on the couch, and Brainy fighting all the way, but Lyle will drag it out of him.

He just really hopes they both survive it.

~TBC


	7. Clouds Between

**Home Life**

 **Chapter 7: Clouds Between**

 _Wish that I could cry, fall upon my knees_

 _Find a way to lie about a home I’ll never see_

 _It may sound absurd, but don’t be naïve_

 _Even heroes have the right to bleed_

 _I may be disturbed, but won’t you concede_

 _Even heroes have the right to dream_

 _It’s not easy to be me_

 **  
_-Five for Fighting, “Superman (It’s Not Easy)”_   
**

Dr. Gables has informed Querl that he’s on bed rest until his ribs heal. At least he gets to go home for bed rest, where Lyle waits on him hand and foot, and he can hear Ryn playing superheroes in the living room. For the last couple of hours, he’s just been lying here amidst the many cushions that Lyle piled around him, listening to Ryn take down Darkseid with only the help of Assistant Bear.

Lyle is working in the living room as well. He keeps coming in and checking on Querl; fluffing the pillows, asking Querl how he feels, adjusting the room temperature, and other useless tasks he’s convinced himself that he owes to Querl.

Having his boyfriend at his beck and call like this would be a lot more fun under different conditions. Lyle is not nearly so attentive usually. At least the pain medication is making Querl feel suitably blurry. Otherwise, he’d be very bored, just lying in here like this.

He’s not nearly as upset today as he was last night when he woke up in the hospital; that’s probably the pain meds. They’re pretty good pain meds. It’s easy not to think about the events of yesterday. Lyle hasn’t even tried to ask him about it, but Querl thinks that’s probably because Dr. Gables had a “private talk” with him. _Don’t push the crazy kid too far, Lyle; he might have a psychotic break._ Oh yes, he can imagine how the whole conversation went.

The noise in the living room dies down and Querl hears little footsteps coming towards his door. A moment later, Ryn appears in the doorway with Assistant Bear tucked under his arm. He peers in at Querl with a scrutinizing look, which Querl does his best to match. Then, Ryn seems to decide that the coast is clear and he scampers into the room, climbing up into the bed with Querl.

“I wish you could play with me,” the boy says glumly, flopping down beside Querl. “Lyle has to work today. He says he has to make an important call, so I have to be quiet.”

“That is a problem,” Querl replies solemnly. “But if I was well enough to play, I’d have to go to work.”

Ryn sighs dramatically and looks Querl in the eyes. “I wish you didn’t work all the time. If you didn’t work, maybe you wouldn’t get hurt so bad, and we could be together all the time.”

“I have to make money so we can eat and have air conditioning,” Querl tells him patiently.

“Does it hurt?” Ryn asks, unexpectedly switching the subject. “I mean, to be all beat up like that?”

Querl shakes his head. “They gave me medication to take, so it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Interesting.” Ryn sits up and taps his chin thoughtfully. “I didn’t know they made medicine to make things stop hurting.”

“Mmhmm,” Querl mumbles fuzzily. He’s only about half conscious most of the time, and he keeps drifting off to sleep; definitely the medication. “Ask Lyle to get you a book about medicine.”

Instead of obeying, Ryn shifts closer until he’s curled next to Querl’s side. He yawns deeply and then exhales, settling down into the blankets. “I just want to stay here, with you. Because you’re hurt, so you need a superhero to protect you. I’ll protect you, Querl, I promise.”

Querl’s throat gets uncomfortably tight. He coughs a little, trying to get rid of the feeling. “… That’s okay, Ryn, you don’t have to stay in here to protect me. I’m sure it will work anywhere in the apartment.”

“I don’t mind.” Ryn pats his arm reassuringly. “Assistant Bear and I will make sure all the bad guys stay away.”

The bad guys are all in Querl’s head now, but he can’t tell Ryn that. There’s no way Brainiac 6 and Assistant Bear can fight them all off. At least the medication makes it all easier. When it wears off, things will be worse. He’ll have to face the world again.

“Okay,” he agrees instead. “You stay here, then.”

He dozes off and when he wakes up, it’s because he feels Lyle adjusting his pillows for him. He opens his eyes blearily and focuses on the space directly in front of him. Ryn is still curled next to him, sound asleep.

“You awake?” Lyle asks, bending over them to kiss Querl’s cheek gently. “Is your medication still working?”

“Starting to wear off,” Querl admits with a grimace. “How long has it been since I had a dose?”

“Not long enough.” Lyle sits down on the bed and lightly combs his fingers through Querl’s hair. “Can you wait another hour? It’s not good to overdose on that stuff, it’s pretty strong.”

Querl hums in agreement, relaxing into his lover’s touch. Lyle has such careful fingers, delicate and always placed perfectly. It is Lyle’s unique touch that Querl has learned to love, an adjustment he had to gradually make. But Lyle has always been so patient with him, despite how infuriating Querl tends to be.

“You need to sit up and have some soup,” his boyfriend says. “Gotta’ keep your strength up.”

“Not hungry,” Querl objects, shaking his head. “Maybe I could drink a glass of water, though.”

Lyle fetches a glass of water for him. He helps Querl sit up a little in bed and then helps Querl hold the glass steady to take a drink. It makes Querl feel like a small child.

“Are you going to press charges?” Lyle asks. He sets the empty water glass on the bedside table. “Dr. Gables said you need to do that as soon as possible.”

“Not worth it,” Querl replies. “There’s not enough evidence, and I’d have to retell it over and over again, and then I’d have to identify them all – if they even managed to catch them. Who cares? I don’t want to think about.”

It is to Lyle’s credit that he doesn’t immediately call Querl on his blatant lie and illogical reasoning. When they were younger, Lyle would have put his hand on his hip and given Querl his most disapproving glare, and he would have said something like, “Don’t you know it’s not logical to run from your problems? How can you think of yourself as a better scientist than me if you won’t even face facts?”

Of course, that side of Lyle still comes out now and then. He’s always patient at first and tries to handle things diplomatically, but diplomacy so seldom works with Querl that is usually degenerates into Lyle putting his foot down and giving Querl a thorough scolding.

For now, Lyle just smiles patiently and says, “Well, we’ll talk about this later.”

Querl snickers to himself (perhaps the drugs are still working a little). “You make a great mom.”

“Brainy, do _not_ make me kill you,” Lyle warns, but his attention is successfully diverted to Ryn, still sound asleep. He reaches over and gently pets Ryn’s cheek. “He’s been really scared for you. But he hasn’t cried at all. He’s just like you.”

“I cry sometimes,” Querl objects weakly. “There have been times…”

“When you were faced with the certain death of your teammates, certainly,” Lyle concedes. “Spark said you didn’t cry when your mother tried to kill you.”

That topic is still an open wound for Querl, even so many years later, and especially since he visited Brainiac 4 very recently. He flinches a little and looks away from Lyle. “I didn’t cry when it happened. That doesn’t mean I didn’t cry.”

Lyle’s hands move to cup Querl’s face, and the other man regards him sympathetically. “I’m not criticizing you. You don’t have to be defensive with me. Don’t you know that I think you’re beautiful?”

Hesitantly, Querl cracks a smile. He reaches up with his good hand to cover Lyle’s left hand on his cheek.

“Even covered in bandages?” he asks jokingly, because he knows he’s a sight. His poor nose is bandaged and the purple bruising that spreads out from it makes his face look comical in addition to his blackened right eye.

“Always.” Lyle leans in and kisses his forehead. “No matter what anyone else tells you, you are beautiful. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong. Your mother was wrong. The woman on the train was wrong. Those people who hurt you were wrong.”

“You’re the only one who thinks I’m beautiful,” Querl whispers. He hates to get emotional and sappy, but it continues to amaze him that Lyle really does love him. “But when you say it like that, I can’t help believing you.”

\--

Surprisingly, Lyle is finding that injured Brainy is fairly easy to deal with. Perhaps this is because Brainy is smart enough to know that he has to let himself heal before he strains himself. This will probably only last until Brainy’s ribs are healed, however.

Lyle has seen Brainy trying to work in various states of bad health. When the Coluan came down with a stomach virus, he attempted to amp his antibiotic dosage to speed his recovery. At the same time, he was attempting to discover the source of Shikari’s path finding abilities by experimenting with homing pigeon DNA. He’d been about to inject himself with some sort of concoction when Lyle found him and stopped him. Later on, they’d analyzed the concoction and discovered that it would have been more likely to cause Brainy to sprout feathers than to unlock path finding abilities.

Right now, however, Lyle is presented with a more stressful situation. In a few hours, he’s expecting company that he hasn’t told Brainy about, and Brainy is in desperate need of a bath. Now he’s faced with the task of convincing Brainy that he needs a bath, and that he’ll have to let Lyle help him.

“You smell,” Lyle tells his lover flatly, his hands on his hips. He’s staring Brainy down while the Coluan glares back up at him stubbornly from the bed. “It’s awful. Ryn, back me up.”

“You really smell funny, Querl,” Ryn agrees solemnly. Bless him; Ryn has been Lyle’s loyal helper since day before yesterday. He seems to have decided that it’s his duty to keep Querl safe, and Lyle and Querl both have been playing along with Ryn’s superhero coping mechanism.

Brainy wrinkles his nose. “I don’t see the point. I haven’t noticed that my smell is that offensive, personally, and all I’m doing is lying in bed anyway. There’s no point in _you_ having to help me bathe when I can do it myself in a couple days.”

“You smell _bad_ ,” Ryn says with a grim expression. “Lyle says you need a bath.”

“Yes,” Lyle agrees. “You desperately need a bath.”

“And you can’t wait days to take a bath!” Ryn exclaims dramatically. “It’s not good for your health! I take a bath every night at 8 o’clock.”

It’s obvious that Brainy doesn’t want to give in to this. Lyle can see it in Brainy’s face that he’s trying to come up with a better excuse, but there isn’t one and they both know it. There’s only one logical conclusion Brainy can come to, so Lyle waits for it.

“I don’t want to,” Brainy says finally.

Lyle arches an eyebrow incredulously. “Okay, seriously, that’s what you’re going with? You don’t _want to_? This is ridiculous. You have to take a bath, and you’re taking one now, end of story.”

“You can’t make me!” Brainy declares stubbornly. “What are you going to do, carry me to the bathroom? Undress me?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Lyle points out with a smug smile. “Do you really want to push your luck?”

Brainy’s cheeks turn dark green. “Don’t talk about things like that in front of Ryn!”

“Up, up, and away, darling.” Lyle bends over and wraps an arm around Brainy’s shoulders to support him. “Just suck it up and it’ll be over before you know it. I promise to be very gentle.”

It’s not easy but somehow Lyle manages to get Brainy to the bathroom. Brainy is cooperative but doesn’t say much and won’t look Lyle in the eyes. Knowing that Brainy wants at least a little privacy, Lyle sends Ryn back out to the living room to play with the game console Lyle bought for him a couple weeks ago.

When he and Brainy are alone, he starts helping Brainy undress and unwrap bandages. Brainy shivers; maybe from the cold, but it’s not cool in the apartment.

Brainy sits on the lid of the toilet while Lyle draws him a bath. Lyle sits on the edge of the tub, one hand testing the temperature of the water. He watches Brainy with concern, eyes roaming over the bruises and cuts that litter Brainy’s naked form.

“Talk to me about it,” Lyle begs softly. “You’re blocking me out, Brainy.”

“I told you what happened. I was walking home from work and they cornered me in an alley. They beat me and left me there. That’s all there is to it.”

But Brainy won’t meet Lyle’s gaze, so Lyle knows he’s leaving something out. Despite being the smartest guy in the universe, Brainy is a terrible liar. Lying is false and Brainy has always existed in his own little bubble of exact truths.

He lets it slide for now and helps Brainy into the bath. Tenderly, he helps Brainy clean the grime from his body. When Brainy is clean again, perhaps he’ll feel better. Lyle works diligently to wash away every trace of the alley from his lover.

“You are so beautiful,” Lyle murmurs when he helps Brainy stand back out of the tub. Brainy’s wet skin seems to shimmer in the bathroom light. Lyle hates to cover it up but he drapes a large towel around Brainy’s shoulders. “I love you.”

He reaches out and gathers Brainy into his arms. The Coluan presses his damp face against Lyle’s neck and sighs.

“I love you too,” Brainy whispers. “You are… the only one I really trust.”

Lyle wishes he could take Brainy back to bed right now and make love to him. The broken ribs and bruises keep that from being a possibility. Then again, there are less strenuous activities that they could engage in. Ryn is preoccupied in the living room and won’t notice if they fool around in the bathroom for a bit. Brainy could probably use some stress relief.

So Lyle lets one hand slide down Brainy’s back slowly, and then draws it across Brainy’s hip. He pauses there.

“How much do you trust me?” he asks.

His hand slips lower, gently reaching between the Coluan’s legs to cup him.

Suddenly, Brainy jerks backwards, gasping sharply. He looks at Lyle with wide, panicked eyes and Lyle freezes. Something is wrong. That’s not at all the reaction Lyle was expecting.

It’s not that Brainy has never pushed him away before. In fact, Brainy is very seldom in the mood for sex, especially when he’s preoccupied with work or something. Lyle is used to having his advances spurned. This, however, is more than that. Brainy actually looks _scared_.

“What’s wrong?” Lyle asks quietly. He tries to reach out and Brainy jerks away again, this time backing away from Lyle until his back hits the bathroom wall.

“Don’t… Just… Don’t touch me,” Brainy whispers harshly. “I’m sorry, just don’t touch me.”

A horrible, sickening thought occurs to Lyle. Did those men do more than just beat Brainy up? Is that why Brainy won’t talk about it? Lyle’s stomach lurches.

He remembers the first time they made love. It actually hasn’t been all that long ago now, but Brainy was still a virgin and he’d been terrified. He’d put on a brave face and tried to keep his fears from Lyle but of course it was obvious. So Lyle had taken great pains to be as gentle as possible that time and the next time, and every time they ever had sex.

What he has gradually taught Brainy about sex is that it is like a partnership; both parties have to be in agreement and everything should be fun. If someone has hurt Brainy, taken that precious thing and twisted it into a weapon against him, it’s hard to know just how much damage he has truly sustained.

“Brainy,” Lyle whispers helplessly. “The way you’re acting… Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me they didn’t force you.”

Brainy shakes his head rapidly, eyes still wide as saucers. “They didn’t do anything. That’s just it; they didn’t do anything but I can’t get it out of my head. I… I don’t understand. Nothing happened. _Nothing happened_!”

 _Nothing happened._ What does that mean? Does it mean that Brainy’s not hurt and those men really didn’t touch him? Or does it mean that Brainy is denying that it happened to try and keep hold of his sanity? Either way, Brainy is falling apart. Lyle watches him slide down the wall to the floor, where he draws his knees protectively to his chest.

“Did they rape you?” Lyle forces himself to ask. His voice cracks and his eyes sting with tears.

“No,” Brainy says, shaking his head.

“Did they… touch you in a way that made you uncomfortable?” he tries instead, because maybe his definition of rape and Brainy’s definition are two different things.

This time Brainy doesn’t answer. He stares blankly at the opposite wall, his body trembling.

“Oh, B,” Lyle murmurs, “No, please, no.”

Brainy bows his head and hunches his shoulders. He still doesn’t speak, but that says volumes to Lyle. The way he holds himself, the way he’s shaking, it all adds up. And Lyle wants to kill someone for it.

“Nothing happened,” Brainy says again finally. “Nothing happened, they stopped, so why…?”

“It’s okay,” Lyle tells him gently. “It’s alright to be upset about it. They had no right. What they did, Brainy, that sort of thing leaves a mark. And it’s not your fault.”

“It is my fault!” Brainy suddenly shouts, glaring up at Lyle. “I wasn’t strong enough! I wasn’t smart enough, I _put myself_ in that position, and I knew better! Sprock!”

He smacks his head against the wall, his mouth set in an angry scowl. His entire body is tensed up now, rage emanating off of him in waves. A total breakdown is coming, Lyle fears, because Brainy is never just sad or hurt. He is always furious about whatever is bothering him, and this is one of those horrible things that should never happen to a person.

So Lyle tries to calm him down. He crouches down on Brainy’s level, resisting the urge to reach out to his lover. “That’s not true. Come on, Brainy, these things happen sometimes…”

“No!” Brainy all but screams and tears have started to roll down his face now. “Things don’t just happen! There’s always a reason, an explanation, and the explanation is that I sprocked up this time! I should have just come straight home, I shouldn’t have stayed to help Sharon, but I thought I could handle anyone who tried anything, and I was _wrong_ , Lyle.”

“Shh, it’s okay.” Lyle places his hands on Brainy’s knees, rubbing them soothingly. “Babe, listen to me. You’re right, there is an explanation. I can tell you exactly why it happened. It happened because humans – people, in general – have a tendency to fear things they don’t understand. And those men were ignorant and mean on top of that. You didn’t deserve it. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Brainy pushes his hands away, shaking his head. “It’s not that simple…”

“Yes, it is,” Lyle says sternly. “Stop blaming yourself for this. Come on, you need to get dressed and get to bed. Let me help you.”

After that, Brainy is quiet. He lets Lyle help him dress and then curls up on the bed, staring distantly at nothing. Lyle brings him a bowl of chicken noodle soup, which Brainy tries to get out of eating at first but eventually Lyle manages to get him to eat all of it.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Lyle asks softly. He doesn’t want to hear; he thinks it might kill him to know how it happened. But he has to help his lover deal with this.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Brainy replies stubbornly, right back to where he was before the meltdown in the bathroom.

“I’m worried about you.” Lyle sets the soup bowl on the bedside table and crawls into bed with Brainy. Mindful of his lover’s injuries, he wraps his arms around the Coluan. “It kills me that you’re hurting and I can’t do anything to fix it. I love you so much.”

Brainy turns a little so that he has his nose pressed against Lyle’s cheek and he sighs. “I’m okay. I just have to get back on my feet and I’ll be alright.”

Lyle wishes he could believe that. Maybe after they move, things will be better. If Brainy has less stress to deal with and doesn’t have to fear for his safety walking home from work, he really will do better. If things will just work out the way they’re supposed to…

He kisses Brainy’s forehead lovingly and then climbs back out of the bed. The apartment still needs straightened up and Ryn needs some attention. Brainy could probably use some alone time after all that drama.

“Umm, I know I probably should have mentioned this earlier,” he says once he’s well out of range of Brainy’s ire, “but Mr. Brande is coming over in a couple hours. So, be prepared.”

He ducks out of the room before Brainy has the chance to retaliate. If there’s one thing Brainy hates, it is guests. He can’t stand having people in his personal space that shouldn’t be there, so they’ve only had visitors a couple of times since they moved in. No doubt, he’s going to catch hell from Brainy about this later on.

Just outside the room, Ryn is standing in the hallway, looking up at Lyle with big, solemn green eyes. Lyle jumps when he sees him, having not expected Ryn to be standing there. “Ryn, sweetie! What are you doing? I thought I sent you to the living room.”

“You did, and I was watching TV, but then I heard Querl screaming about something!” Ryn replies urgently. “I thought he was hurt or something! Is he okay? Why was he upset?”

“Querl’s just going through some stuff right now,” Lyle tries to explain, kneeling down. He opens his arms to Ryn and the boy rushes to embrace him, wrapping his arms around Lyle’s neck. “It will all be okay, I promise. We just have to all work together, and you and I have to help Querl feel better.”

Ryn sniffles softly, but doesn’t cry. He’s too much like Brainy for his own good, Lyle thinks. It’s probably genetic. At least Ryn is learning to come to Lyle with his problems. It terrifies Lyle to think that Ryn might have another spell and try to hurt himself again.

“Love you, baby,” he murmurs, hugging Ryn close. “Everything will work out.”

“Love you too, Lyle,” Ryn says back.

Lyle would do anything for this kid, and he’d do anything for Brainy. No matter how many times he tells Brainy that, he’s still not sure that Brainy really gets it. More than anything, he just wants the three of them to live happily ever after together.

\--

Querl is not pleased. What was Lyle thinking, inviting Mr. Brande over when Querl can’t even walk from the bedroom to the living room on his own? He hates being vulnerable like this, and the last thing he wants is to have visitors right now.

He doesn’t bother trying to be civil as he sits on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. Mr. Brande knows him well enough to not expect friendly conversation from him, so the old man mostly talks to Lyle, asking about how Ryn has been and how Lyle’s work has been going.

It is not lost on Querl that no one has mentioned _his_ work or the attack. They’re trying to avoid discussing things that will upset him. This babying him gets on Querl’s nerves.

At least Ryn is still just being Ryn. The boy has dressed up in his Green Lantern pajamas just for occasion, and is now playing with toy space cruisers, making “vroom” noises for them as he drives them through the living room. Mr. Brande seems delighted by Ryn’s “progress” and even compliments Ryn’s pajamas, which obviously makes the boy’s day.

“Okay boys, enough small talk,” Mr. Brande says presently. “I came for a reason, didn’t I? Lyle, I told you that I had a place you might be able to use, so I double checked everything and by damn if I didn’t find a little clinic for sale in the same town. I bought it already, so all you’ll have to do is move in whenever you want to.”

He hands a file over to Lyle, and Querl leans over, trying to see what this is all about. Lyle didn’t mention anything to him about Mr. Brande finding them a new house. It irks him a little that they only just decided to do this but apparently Lyle has already started making plans without asking him first.

There’s a picture of a beautiful old farm house, 21st century at least. Querl’s eyes search for the address.

“Smallville?” he asks out loud. “Lyle, when you said some place _smaller_ , I didn’t know you meant it literally.”

“Actually, the house is a lot bigger than your current home,” Mr. Brande corrects him, “but the town, yes, is quite small. It’s a nice place, you will like it there. I purchased this house and had it renovated a few years ago, but I didn’t think I’d ever have a use for it. If you boys want it, it’s yours.”

How could a person say no to that? And besides, there’s something about this house… Smallville, wasn’t that where Superman’s human parents lived?

“Is that the Kent farm?” he asks incredulously, his eyes growing wide as saucers. “Mr. Brande, how is that house still standing?”

Mr. Brande chuckles. “Well, it was in bad shape. I got it for a good price. Now it’s all new, inside and out, so it’s almost not the same house anymore but I tried to keep it as close to the original as possible. I thought it would be appropriate for your little family to live there, Querl, rather than turn it into another museum.”

Querl is speechless. Smallville, the historic home of Clark Kent, and Mr. Brande is really saying he wants them to live in the very house that Superman grew up in? Ryn will get to grow up on the same farm?

“When can we move in?” he blurts out.

“You see!” Mr. Brande tells Lyle triumphantly. “I told you I had the perfect place. Any time you’re ready, you can move in.”

Ryn pipes up then, having abandoned his space cruisers to listen in on the conversation. “Why are we moving? I don’t want to go somewhere else. I like this house.”

“But Ryn,” Querl says, barely able to contain his own excitement, “we’re moving to _Superman’s_ house.”

He can tell by the amazed look that spreads across Ryn’s face that everything has been settled. They’re moving to Smallville, Kansas.

TBC


	8. Bottle Rocket

**Chapter 8: Bottle Rocket**

 _See those stars shining in your eyes,_

 _I know I got to keep them there_

 _Came down on a bottle rocket,_

 _Found my heart right where I locked it_

 _Last night like rain on chalk_

 _It’s gone like money in my pocket_

 _- **The Weepies, “Keep it There”**_

The house is magnificent. It has been restored to brand new, with shiny wood floors and high, white ceilings. Everything about it is just so incredibly perfect that Querl feels completely overwhelmed. He stands in the middle of the barren living room floor, sort of like he did that first day in the apartment, and just looks around at everything that is suddenly his.

“Grife, you guys really hit the jackpot,” Garth speaks up, his voice drawing Querl sharply back into reality.

The Winathian stands in the adjoining dining room, several boxes stacked in his arms. He and Imra are here to help Querl and Lyle move in. Well, Garth’s here to help Querl move in. It seems that Imra and Lyle are too busy with Ryn and the twins.

“I’m not sure how it happened, honestly,” Querl admits to Garth, nervously crossing his arms over his chest. Part of him feels so undeserving of this place that he thinks Mr. Brande might show up at any moment, saying it was all just a joke, and that he didn’t mean to give them the house after all.

It’s been three months since the attack. At least his arm is healed now, and his ribs don’t ache anymore. The bruises have all faded away. Physically, he looks fine. It’s not the same on the inside; those wounds are still fresh.

Garth sets the boxes on the stairs and regards Querl with a worried look. Most people don’t realize it, but Garth’s a fairly intuitive person. That’s something he’s grown into gradually. He was notoriously dense in his teens.

“So, I told Lyle I’d try to talk to you,” the Winathian says casually. “You know, about what happened.”

There’s that damned topic being brought up again. Why can’t everyone just leave him alone about it? He knows they want him to just give and say yes, he’s still hurting, and it wasn’t fair, and he was so terrified they were going to kill him or _rape_ him in that alley. But he’s not going to do that. At least, he’s not ready to give in just yet.

“You know, I’m not sure even I know the exact number of times we Legionnaires have cheated death,” Querl says, just as casually. He turns in a circle, regarding the space he’s in. “What makes this any different than the million other times I’ve been beaten to a pulp, or nearly killed?”

“You’re not a Legionnaire anymore,” Garth says, matter-of-factly. “It was your job before. Now it’s just one of those bad things that happen to good people.”

Querl shrugs his shoulders. “Alright, that’s true. Did Lyle tell you that I’m not particularly interested in discussing the matter?”

He looks over at Garth, who just grins wryly at him. “Well, you seem alright to me, but I’m not fluent in Brainiac like Lyle is. He says you need to talk, but you won’t. That’s a pretty classic move of yours, by the way.”

“I will concede that as well,” Querl replies because he can’t really deny it. “I’m still alive; as I’m sure you’ve noticed. I haven’t died from pent up angst and trauma, despite the outrageous amount of crap that I’ve had to deal with. Here I am, standing in my very own _house_ , where I’ll be living with my own family. Do you know where I was fifteen years ago? Compared to that…”

This is venturing into territory that no one else has ever really understood. Oh, everyone in the Legion had baggage, it’s true. But how many of them lived out their childhoods in an observation room, cared for by machines? And they all just expected him to suddenly adjust to being in a social setting, surrounded by living, breathing people?

“I know,” Garth replies kindly. “You’re doing great, Brainy.”

“I am,” Querl agrees, just a tad defensive. “I’m doing better. What happened three months ago was a setback. In the long run, it won’t even matter.”

Garth throws his hands up in the air in mock exasperation. “Okay, I told Lyle I’d try to talk, and now we’ve tried and I can tell him that I brought it up and you didn’t want to talk but you seem perfectly sane – for now.”

“You might not want to say ‘perfectly sane.’” Querl smirks at his former teammate. “He’ll think something’s up.”

“Good point,” Garth agrees. “Where do you want these boxes? They say they belong to Brainiac 6?”

“Ah, yes, Ryn thinks he’s going to follow in my footsteps. Just leave them on the stairs; he hasn’t picked out his room yet.”

“Oh, gotcha’.” Garth abandons the boxes on the stairs and wanders over to the living room. “I have to admit, I’d love to have a place like this. 20th century Earth had some beautiful architecture. Plus, you’ve got the whole farm to go with it. I could help you set up a nice garden.”

Querl’s first thought is what the sprock would I do with a garden? But then it occurs to him that there are all sorts of interesting plants he’s never had the chance to experiment with, since he never had anywhere to keep them.

“How about a greenhouse instead?” he suggests, hoping the grin that spreads across his face doesn’t look too suspicious. “You know, for… vegetables.”

“…Vegetables, sure,” Garth says, clearly not fooled but willing to play along anyway. “Alright, I know you’re probably planning to use it for something potentially dangerous or explosive, but I like building greenhouses, so I’ll draw up some blueprints and get back to you.”

“Splendid.” Querl glances out the living room window. “Let’s put it a fair distance away from the house.”

\--

“So, are you guys planning on tying the knot anytime soon?”

Imra and Lyle are outside with the boys because Ryn wanted to explore. While the Coluan boy snoops about the property, Imra and Lyle follow at a distance, each toting a twin with them. Lyle is carrying Garridan, the more adventurous of the two, while Imra has quiet, sensitive Graym cradled to her chest.

“Oh, well, we haven’t really talked about it,” Lyle admits sheepishly in answer to his friend’s question. “I mean, I expect we will eventually but I don’t want to bring it up just yet. Brainy’s been through a lot and I don’t want to push him to make a commitment like that right now.”

“If you’re waiting on Brainy, you’re going to be waiting for a very long time,” Imra warns him. “He’s likely to forget you’re not married in the first place. He’ll never bring it up on his own. You’re going to have to pop the question.”

“Da, da, da, da!” Garridan chants excitedly, pointing a chubby finger at a butterfly that flutters past them. Apparently he refers to everything as “da.” Baby Graym rarely makes any sounds at all – at least, out loud. Imra says she hears him loud and clear when he wants something, because he’s inherited her telepathic abilities.

“Yeah, but things have been kind of… tense for the last few months.” Lyle frowns and shrugs his shoulders. “We actually haven’t been intimate since the attack. I don’t think now is a good time to try anything.”

Imra regards him with a worried expression. “You’re guarding your thoughts from me, Lyle. You don’t need to do that. I won’t read them without your permission.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Imra.” Lyle smiles apologetically. “I’d like to talk to you about something, actually, but I don’t think Brainy would be happy with me sharing it. It’s just… something happened to him. Those men didn’t just beat him up, but he won’t tell me what happened. I’m scared for him.”

“I understand.” Imra’s face softens. She reaches out to him mentally, sending happy feelings. “He is not made of glass, though. I think it will only make him angry if you treat him as though he is. You are his lover, Lyle, he trusts you. But he’s still Brainy.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Lyle agrees, nodding. “But I want him to be happy, you know? I want us to be happy together. I look at you and Garth and the twins, and you look so content together, and I _want_ that so bad. I just don’t know what to do, because I’m not sure it’s what he wants.”

The telepath laughs softly. “Everything is not always sunshine and roses with Garth and I. We have our ups and downs. You know what always unites us, though? The boys; they’re like a physical symbol of our bond. They’re both of us, combined. It’s amazing.”

Longing rises in Lyle’s chest and he feels guilty for it. He and Brainy have Ryn, and that should be enough. Ryn is such an amazing child, and Lyle loves him, but a baby that is half him and half Brainy is something he has secretly longed for. He knows Brainy’s afraid to have a child, but Lyle wonders if he feels differently now that they’ve had Ryn for a while.

He imagines Brainy carrying a baby the way that Imra is carrying Graym. The image doesn’t fit with the Brainy he knows right now, but what if having a baby would help? He shakes his head to clear it of that notion. It’s a selfish thought, he knows, and it’s not fair of him to ask more of Brainy than he already has.

Ahead of them, Ryn lets out a loud “Whoop!” He’s discovered the barn and is already inside by the time Imra and Lyle catch up to him.

“Wow! It’s got a great big loft!” Ryn exclaims. He clambers up the stairs to the loft, which was probably once used for hay storage. Lyle climbs up, worrying that Ryn will fall if he’s not careful. When he gets to the top, he’s greeted with an amazing view of the farm’s flat, green fields.

“It’s beautiful up here,” Imra remarks from behind him. “There’s not a lot of Earth that’s still like this. You’re very lucky.”

Yeah, Lyle thinks glumly, but not quite as lucky as he’d like to be.

\--

The first night they spend in the master bedroom of their new house, Querl decides it’s been too long since he and Lyle have had sex. They’re in this beautiful new home, it’s been several months since the attack, and he can’t let something that _almost_ happened to him ruin sex for him.

He comes back from the shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist, prepared to suck it up and seduce his lover and put his irrational fear behind him. However, when he reaches the doorway to the master bedroom, he finds Lyle lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a horrified look on his face.

“Something wrong?” Querl asks with a frown.

“We can’t have sex in here,” Lyle says urgently, looking over at Querl. He hisses and quickly looks away. “Grife, please, put some clothes on.”

The logic behind this statement is not obvious to Querl, and he’s also slightly miffed at Lyle’s reaction to his lack of clothing. It’s not typical of Lyle to _not_ want to see Querl naked.

“Why, exactly, can’t we have sex in here?” he demands, putting his hands on his hips. “It seems like a great place to have sex.”

Lyle moans pitifully. “Brainy, we can’t have sex in here! _Ma and Pa Kent slept in this room_!”

“How does that matter?” Querl thinks perhaps he’s missing something. “We had sex in the meeting room once, and how many other people do think had sex there before we did and have had sex there since?”

“Not the point!” Lyle insists stubbornly. He sits up, shaking his head. “It’s just… Ma and Pa Kent, you know, you hear stories about how wonderful and kind they were, and I have this image in my head of these sweet, adorable old people and I can’t have sex in their bedroom! It’s just wrong!”

“Oh, is that so?” Querl calmly closes the door to the room and lets his towel fall to the floor. “Are you sure I can’t persuade you otherwise?”

He resists the urge to laugh at the torn expression on Lyle’s face. This won’t last long. At least, he hopes it won’t last long, but then again… Maybe Querl needs to make sure that Lyle makes the right decision.

The Coluan slowly makes his way over to the bed and climbs onto it, straddling Lyle’s waist. “I really think you should change your mind,” he murmurs, leaning in so that his breath tickles Lyle’s ear.

Lyle shudders and closes his eyes. “Not fair, Brainy. You know I can’t resist you when you’re like this…”

“Like what?” Querl asks smugly. “Naked?”

“Yeah, but Brainy, all I can think about is those nice old people who lived here before we did! They’re practically saints!”

Querl rolls his hips against Lyle’s purposefully. “Lyle, do you think that Ma and Pa Kent never had sex in this room themselves? They weren’t saints; they were humans – normal people.”

The other man’s hips arch against Querl’s. Lyle moans helplessly.

“Well, I am obviously no saint either,” he admits sheepishly. His hands reach up to grip Querl’s thighs, keeping the two of them pressed together. His eyes rove Querl’s body hungrily. “Grife, you’re so beautiful. I’ll never get enough.”

Lyle’s eyes are such a deep, rich brown, and Querl finds himself suddenly fascinated by them. Those eyes see him in such a strange way; they see him as beautiful. Querl wonders what it would be like to see things from behind them. Would he see his own body the way that Lyle sees it?

They move together, slow and gentle. Lyle has always been a tender lover, for which Querl is grateful. Despite being smarter than pretty much everyone else, Querl is not much for hands on experience. He did his research on the act of love making many years ago, but it took quite a while for Lyle to convince him to actually try it. Lyle, of course, had long since experimented with sex, and knew his way around it. For a first time, Querl is pretty sure that his was unusually fantastic.

Querl enjoys coupling with Lyle on two levels. First of all is the purely physical level; it always feels fantastic. The second is the emotional level; Querl secretly loves being connected to Lyle like they are one being instead of two separate people. They know each others’ bodies as they know each others’ minds, and now they grow together. Lyle is a soft, delicate vine that curls carefully around and between Querl’s thorns and creeps into Querl’s heart and thoughts.

This time, he submits to Lyle, allowing his lover to take the lead. He wraps himself around Lyle, clinging with arms and legs as Lyle moves inside him. He allows himself to relinquish a little of his usual control as he pants and whimpers and speaks in soft, broken sentences.

After, as they lie facing each other, Lyle reaches out a hand to trace Querl’s jaw reverently. “I was starting to worry about you. That’s the first time in months.”

“I know,” Querl murmurs. “It was something I had to sort out for myself. In the end, I like copulating with you too much to let it get in my way.”

Lyle snickers and kisses Querl softly. “Happy to be of service.”

“Even if it means having sex in the same room that Ma and Pa Kent had sex in?”

“Goddamn it, Brainy,” Lyle grumbles, frowning. “I had almost forgotten.”

“Don’t worry,” Querl says with a smirk. “I can help you forget all over again.”

\--

Ryn has constructed an entire solar system in his new bedroom. He didn’t have a lot of supplies just for making planets, so he had to compromise on some things (his entire marble collection went into making the various moons and Mars is actually a ceramic apple he stole from the kitchen). However, he is overall pleased with his accomplishment.

Now it’s time to convince Querl and Lyle to come and look. Once he actually gets them to come and see it, he knows they’ll be pleased. Querl, in particular, is always happy when Ryn makes something like this. Lyle will think that it’s “cool” (which it is). But that’s all contingent on if he can actually get them to stop doing yard work long enough to come up to Ryn’s bedroom.

He throws open his window and sticks his head out. “Hey, you guys! Come see what I made!”

“What?” Querl calls back. He stops digging around in the flower bed and holds a hand to his ear. “Did you say something? And get back from the window, you’ll fall out!”

“I said, come and look at what I made!” Ryn yells, ignoring Querl’s command. “It’s really cool!”

“Ryn, you are going to fall out of the window if you don’t get back!” Querl insists, instead of responding to Ryn’s request. “You’d break your neck!”

“You don’t know that for sure!” Ryn counters stubbornly, but he backs away from the window anyway. There’s no point in arguing with Querl, because Querl is older and knows pretty much everything that Ryn doesn’t. Querl is also not a lot of fun sometimes.

However, Lyle is fun almost all of the time. It’s not too difficult to get Lyle to stop whatever he’s doing and pay attention to Ryn for a while. So Ryn sets off from his room, Assistant Bear tucked underneath one arm, in search of his other guardian.

He finds Lyle in the backyard, trying clumsily to trim an overgrown bush back down to size. Ryn watches him work for a few moments, because it’s kind of funny. Lyle with a pair of tree trimmers is probably not the greatest idea.

“Lyle!” he shouts after a moment, causing Lyle to startle and cut a funny looking chuck out of the bush on accident.

“Ryn, Grife, don’t do that!” Lyle admonishes, turning around to look at Ryn with a pale face and trembling hands. “This is dangerous. I could have gotten hurt.”

Ryn regards the tree trimmers for a moment before deciding that it would have taken Lyle a lot of skill to actually hurt himself on them. He’d have to stand them up on their handles and throw himself on the blades. So he shrugs his shoulders.

“I made something in my room,” he says brightly. “Come and see it! Querl won’t come up. He’s working in the garden.”

“Sweetie, I’m sorry, but Querl and I have a lot of work to do,” Lyle says kindly. “This evening we’ll come up and look, I promise.”

“Yeah, but I want you to see it now,” Ryn objects, crestfallen.

“Later,” says Lyle, returning to pruning the shrub.

Ryn stands there for a moment, shoulders drooping. Well, that was definitely unexpected. It’s rare that Lyle actually turns him down. Now what is Ryn supposed to do? He’s already finished with his solar system project, but no one will come and see it. And it’s still early, which means he’ll have to find something to do for the next few hours.

He settles down in front of the television and watches cartoons for a while before he gets tired of the repetitive plot lines and subpar dialogue. Then he turns the TV off and goes snooping through Lyle’s book collection for something interesting to read, because he’s not allowed to use the computers by himself.

Locating a volume on modern medicine, Ryn settles down with it. The information is interesting for a while, but he’s too young for his attention span to last very long. After a while, he needs something else to occupy his time. He tries setting up a superhero game starring himself and Assistant Bear, but he gets frustrated with having to move Assistant Bear everywhere. If he had someone else to play with, it would be much more fun.

And that’s when Ryn gets a brilliant idea. Of course, it’s perfect! Why didn’t he think about it before?

He waits until dinner time (after Querl and Lyle have put off coming to see his solar system until it’s almost dark outside). Querl has just lifted a spoon of potato soup to his mouth when Ryn says loudly, “I think you guys should get another kid!”

Querl chokes and splutters and soup goes all over the place. He grabs his napkin and tries to quickly clean himself up. “What on Earth are you talking about?”

“I mean, I need someone to play with,” Ryn explains patiently. “So you guys should get another kid to be my sibling.”

“Sweetie, we can’t just go out and get another child,” Lyle says with a shaky smile. “That’s not how it works.”

“Well, then you guys should have a kid like Aunt Imra and Uncle Garth had kids,” Ryn proposes.

“I need a glass of water,” Querl says abruptly, and he stands from the table and disappears into the kitchen.

“That’s not really going to work either,” Lyle says apologetically. “Don’t you like being the only child?”

“No, I don’t,” Ryn snaps sourly. “It’s really boring. Assistant Bear’s not real, so it’s no fun to play with him anymore. Why can’t you and Querl have a baby? A baby would be fun.”

“Umm…” Lyle looks incredibly uncomfortable, which means he doesn’t want to explain his reasoning to Ryn because he thinks Ryn isn’t old enough. “Well, Querl and I aren’t married.”

“So, get married,” Ryn says. Honestly, can’t Lyle come up with a better excuse than that? “You live together anyway. Get married so we can get a baby, because I want one.”

He really doesn’t understand why Lyle and Querl don’t want to talk about this. Aunt Imra and Uncle Garth (who aren’t really his aunt and uncle, but they asked to be called that, so Ryn will oblige) seem to be very happy with their babies. Ryn knows Lyle loves babies. Maybe it’s Querl who doesn’t want one.

“Don’t you want a baby too, Lyle?” Ryn asks, lowering his voice so that Querl can’t hear them in the kitchen.

Lyle glances at the kitchen nervously and then shrugs his shoulders. “A baby is a big decision and a big responsibility,” he says quietly. “And getting married is basically a promise to always stay together. It’s a really big deal and Querl is still kind of nervous about it, I think.”

“But he loves you!” Ryn objects in alarm. He’s never even considered that Lyle and Querl might not always stay together. They’re supposed to be a family, right? There’s a big family portrait of the three of them in the living room, and that’s supposed to be proof that they’ll always be a family. “Please get married, Lyle! I want you guys to stay together!”

“Easy, sweetie, calm down,” Lyle shushes him urgently. “You don’t need to worry about us, okay? But we’re probably not going to get a baby any time soon.”

Ryn’s mind is working on overdrive as he tries to figure out this situation. When he woke up this morning, everything was great and he was so happy being here with Querl and Lyle. What would happen if Querl and Lyle broke up? No, they have to stay together.

“If you guys were married, would you stay together?” he asks desperately. “If you had a baby, you’d have to stay together, right?”

A pained expression spreads across Lyle’s face. “Ryn, baby, your brother and I have no intention of breaking up. We’re just not ready to take the next step yet. It takes time to get things right, you know?”

This calms Ryn down a little but he’s still worried. He doesn’t like things to be uncertain. He wants this place – this family – set in stone and he won’t feel comfortable until it is. So now he needs a plan, to insure that Lyle and Querl are going to get married.

“Can I use the internet to look something up?” he asks, his lips pursed unhappily. “I need to do some research.”

“No social networking sites,” Lyle says, relaxing a little. “And only one hour at a time, remember.”

“An hour’s all I need,” Ryn promises, nodding his head. Lyle’s so relieved that the subject has been changed that he doesn’t even question why Ryn wants to go online.

Excellent, now he can get started on his plan. If he has anything to say about it, Lyle and Querl are always going to be together.

TBC


	9. Too Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're venturing into uncharted territory with this chapter. I'm just letting this story grow at it's on speed - not trying to impose too many plans on it from the start, so everything is pretty much a surprise (even to me). I also want to note that up until this chapter, we've kind of only seen cute, adorable Ryn, but that's not all there is to him. This chapter will make that clear.

**Chapter 9: Too Deep**

 _Love, surround me while you can_

 _Until these waves grow cold_

 _I’ve gone too deep, I cannot stand_

 _I burned before I froze_

 _Running to save my life and leaving you_

 _And now in the heat of this dreadful dry_

 _I’m needing you_

 **  
_-Ben Taylor, “Surround Me”_   
**

Ryn has discovered the answer to his problem. Mother would be proud of him, he’s sure. In fact, even Querl would have to agree that Ryn has come up with a surprisingly efficient plan, although he has a feeling that Querl is not going to be happy with him about any of this. Not at first, anyway. In the long run, everyone will be happier.

From what he has read online, it’s common on Earth for couples to get married if they find out they are unexpectedly pregnant. Unfortunately, it has also become clear that most men cannot actually have children themselves, a woman is needed. There are a few other ways to go about it, such as growing the embryo in an artificial environment, but that would mean that both parents of the child would have to be completely aware of its existence.

But Ryn has found the perfect solution. It’s a drug that just came on the market – it’s had a lot of success and is actually a hot topic in the scientific community right now. The side-effects seem mild, for the most part. It’s been tested on various humanoid males and seems to induce the same result in all of them. All the details go over Ryn’s head a little but “impregnation through a natural process” makes perfect sense to him. If Querl or Lyle one were to take this drug without realizing what they were taking, it could result in an unexpected pregnancy, which would then mean they would have to get married.

Buying the drug poses little problem. Ryn has long since memorized both his guardians’ credit information, though he doubts they’ve realized this. He decides to buy it with Querl’s credit, because Lyle compulsively checks his purchases and bank statements, whereas Querl tends to forget that such things exist.

Of course, right after he orders it, he realizes that it’s going to come in the mail and now he has to be super stealthy about getting the package from the mailman before Querl or Lyle notice it. Every afternoon for three days, he sits in the front yard and waits on the mailman until finally a small package comes in. Ryn stashes it in his room without anyone seeing.

That night, after Querl and Lyle have gone to bed, he opens up the box. There’s a small bottle of pills inside, round and white, unmarked. For a minute, he’s not sure how he’s going to trick either of his guardians into ingesting them, but then he remembers Querl’s headache pills.

Ever since Querl got beat up, he’s had awful headaches that he has to take pills for. Ryn heard the doctor say it was all in Querl’s head, not an actual physical injury. But the pain pills are strong and Querl’s only supposed to take one a day. Plus, they’re white too and almost the exact same size and shape as these pills.

Querl and Lyle probably wouldn’t like it if they knew what Ryn is doing. But then again, they’ve gotten very lax with Ryn and they treat him like a normal child most of the time. The fact is, Ryn is not normal and he is already very capable. He’s used to being sneaky too, because when he lived with Mother, sometimes being sneaky was the only way to get anything to eat or any treatment for his injuries. So really, Lyle and Querl should know better than to just let him roam around as he pleases.

He sneaks into their bathroom, careful not to make any noises that would wake either of them up, and climbs up onto the sink so that he can reach the medicine cabinet. Quickly, he pours Querl’s pain pills into his pocket and then puts the pregnancy drug into the empty bottle. Querl will never pay attention to the difference, and he won’t disobey the warning on the bottle that threatens impaired cognitive abilities if the user overdoses, because Querl only values one thing about himself, really; his mind.

Ryn’s heart is pounding in his chest when he sneaks back into bed. He could get in a lot of trouble for this. Eventually, they’re probably going to figure out what he has done. Well, they’ll definitely know that _something_ is up when Querl gets pregnant, and they trust each other too much to blame each other for it. Then they’ll look to Ryn, and they’ll know he did it.

But this has to be done, even if they get mad at him for it, because this will make sure everything is alright in the long run. Querl and Lyle will have to get married and there will be a baby too, and things will finally be the way they’re supposed to be. Right?

And yet he still feels so guilty that he lies awake for hours that night, unable to sleep. He misses Mother, because she’d definitely be able to tell him if he’s done the right thing.

\--

There is something wrong with Querl’s pills.

He’s been taking pain medication for headaches since the attack. Apparently the headaches are caused by stress, and the fact that he still has them indicates that he still hasn’t properly dealt with everything. Having sex with Lyle was fun, as always, but it didn’t actually fix anything. He’s not really sure why he thought it would.

But now, the pills aren’t helping his headaches. For the past two weeks, he’s been miserable. He’s sorely tempted to up his dosage, because maybe his body has just gotten too used to his current dosage. But it’s very powerful medication, and taking more than the recommended dosage is supposedly quite dangerous. It’s probably a better idea to just try and relieve his stress somehow.

He hasn’t had a job since the attack, and it’s making him crazy. Lyle still has _his_ job, given that he works from home anyway, but Querl has nothing to do. So he’s been trying to distract himself by planting flowers in the flowerbeds outside. He’s not much of a gardener and doesn’t care for flowers, so it doesn’t help much.

Plus, he woke up today with miserable cramps in his middle. No matter what he does, they won’t go away, and they’ve made him too sick to eat. He ends up hiding in the bedroom, curled up under blankets to wait the cramps out. Lyle is busy today with his work and hasn’t noticed that Querl is behaving oddly.

Eventually, he crawls out of bed and stumbles to the bathroom to take a shower. That would make him feel at least a little cleaner. He strips of his clothes and turns the water on. While he’s waiting for it to heat up, he glances down at his discarded clothing.

He freezes in shock. There is blood staining his underwear. A fair bit of it, too. That’s very unusual. He searches his mind for what it could possibly be from and he settles on hemorrhoids. It’s a lot of blood for hemorrhoids but that’s still the most plausible answer, considering he’s been off his feet for a while now. He makes a face and takes a shower.

Three days later, the bleeding finally stops. Querl attributes this to the cream he went out and purchased (a highly embarrassing process). His headaches are still bad, though, and he considers calling Dr. Gables about it. He trusts Gables more than he trusts most people, so even though he’s moved a few hours away, he still calls Gables instead of the local hospital.

But then again, it’s probably just the stress and he doesn’t want to rely too much on medication. There’s one sure way he knows to relieve stress; plenty of sex. Lyle has been willing lately, Querl just hasn’t much been in the mood and then there was the whole hemorrhoids thing, which was just plain gross. Now, he’s actually feeling kind of horny, which is, as a general rule, rather unusual for him. But who’s complaining?

“You’re not usually so… affectionate,” Lyle comments after they’ve enjoyed a good romp on the bed and lie tangled up in each other. “I mean, really, you don’t usually kiss so much, or actually _beg_ for it like that…”

“Less talking,” Querl grumbles back at him irritably. “You’re ruining the afterglow.”

So their physical relationship actually gets a lot better for a few weeks, and Querl has fewer headaches as a result. But just when he’s starting to get comfortable, he starts getting sick in the mornings – every single morning, as a matter of fact.

He’s bent over the toilet one morning, vomiting up stomach acid, when Ryn creeps into the room looking worried.

“Are you sick?” the boy asks him like it isn’t obvious.

“Seem to be,” Querl replies before vomiting again. He looks over at Ryn miserably. “Go on, now, you don’t need to be in here. I could be contagious.”

“You should go to a doctor,” Ryn says instead of leaving. “Something could be wrong.”

The boy looks really concerned, which Querl has to admit is kind of sweet. He nods wearily and waves a hand at Ryn t shoo him away. “I’ll go to the doctor, I promise. Go and tell Lyle to bring me the phone, okay?”

Ryn scampers off immediately to do as he’s told. Querl just slumps against the toilet, an action that would normally gross him out completely (it’s a toilet, a person’s face should not be _anywhere_ near it).

“Brainy?” Lyle appears in the bathroom doorway a few minutes later. “Are you okay?”

“I think I have a virus,” Querl replies with a sigh. “Help me to bed, will you? I feel awful. I think I need to go to the clinic and get this checked out.”

Lyle grimaces and helps Querl back to bed, gently tucking him in. “You must be really sick if you want to go to a doctor about it. How long has this been going on?”

“A few days,” Querl says tiredly. “I thought it was just the headaches at first, but they’ve been better lately.”

“I’ll call the doctor, don’t worry.” Lyle kisses his forehead. “And I’ll make you some herbal tea. You just rest.”

Lyle offers to go with Querl to his doctor’s appointment the next day but Querl feels well enough to go alone and he knows that Lyle has work to do and it would be difficult to bring Ryn along as well, so he convinces Lyle to stay at home. He calls a cab to take him into town, because they haven’t yet purchased their own cruiser.

The doctor at the clinic in town tells Querl that there is nothing wrong with him. This answer is not good enough for Querl, so he has the man draw blood for some tests. Querl knows there is something wrong, and he plans on finding out what it is.

The clinic calls him a few days later with the results. “Well, if you had just told me you were taking a fertility drug, I could have diagnosed you when you came in,” the doctor says over the phone. “Congratulations, you’re pregnant. Probably about a month along.”

“That’s impossible,” Querl snaps at him. “I’m not taking a fertility drug.”

“You are most definitely taking a fertility drug, which I suggest you stop doing now,” the doctor replies. “Your blood tests showed high amounts of it. And trust me when I say that you are definitely pregnant. The tests say so and the symptoms fit.”

“The only medication I’m taking is for my headaches,” Querl insists. “You must have gotten my paperwork confused with someone else’s.”

The doctor is a grumpy old man who doesn’t like to be told that he isn’t doing his job right. “Young man, you are the only Coluan I have ever treated in this clinic, I most certainly did not get your results confused with anyone else’s. Somehow, and I don’t need or want to know how, you’ve been taking a fertility drug. As for the headache medication, there was no trace of pain medication in the blood samples we took.”

Querl frowns and hangs up the phone. He storms to his bathroom and pulls out the bottle of pain pills, pouring some into his hand to get a better look at them.

Now that he’s looking at them closer, he notices that they’re unmarked. He could have sworn that they used to be marked with a little ‘s.’ He hasn’t looked at them closely in a while, since he’s usually in a lot of pain when he takes one. But these pills are definitely different.

A chill runs down his spine. Are these the fertility drug that the doctor insists he has in his system? Someone would have had to put them there. Lyle wouldn’t do something like that and not tell Querl about it, would he? Querl knows that Lyle wants kids, but Lyle would never betray Querl’s trust like that.

“Querl, are you okay?” Ryn’s voice asks him from the doorway. The boy is staring in at him with wide eyes. “That was the doctor that called you a minute ago, right?”

“Umm, yes.” Querl turns the pill bottle over in his hands. “Ryn, have you noticed… anyone doing anything to my pain pills?”

Ryn backs up very quickly. “Oh. No, I don’t think I saw anybody do anything to them. Is something wrong? Are you sick?”

Querl narrows his eyes at Ryn suspiciously. The boy is acting very nervous; like he’s afraid he’s done something wrong. “Ryn, you didn’t do anything to my pills, did you?” he asks, just to be safe. He can’t imagine that Ryn would bother his medication, but he can’t rule it out, either.

“I’m sorry!” Ryn suddenly blurts, looking terribly guilty. “I shouldn’t have done it, I know, but I was afraid you and Lyle would break up and I read online that when people have babies together, they get married. And Lyle said that getting married is a promise to always stay together, and I wanted you guys to stay together!”

It feels like getting punched in the stomach by Validus. Querl’s knees suddenly give out and he drops to the floor heavily. “You… Ryn, you changed my medicine…?”

“I’m really, really sorry,” Ryn insists. Tears have started to roll down the boy’s face. “I was trying to make things better. Please don’t be mad at me, Querl!”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” Querl demands harshly. “Ryn, you have violated my trust! You tricked me into altering my own body! And you don’t want me to be mad at you?!”

Ryn’s breathing is too fast and he backs up further. “Don’t… Don’t be angry, please, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it, I know, I-“

“Stop it! Stop talking!” Querl grips the edge of the bathroom sink and halls himself back up off the floor. “What possessed you to do this?! Why did you think it would be okay?! Didn’t you even consider for a moment that I don’t _want_ to be pregnant?! My body is not designed for this; I could _die_ if something went wrong!”

“Please, Querl, I’m sorry!” Ryn sobs, throwing his arms over his head defensively. “Don’t be angry, please, don’t punish me, I’m sorry!”

Querl feels sick when he realizes that Ryn expects to be “punished” for this, even though he and Lyle have never really had to punish Ryn for anything. He must expect Querl to strike him, like Brainiac 4 would have done. All the anger is sucked out of Querl with that thought, leaving him ragged and tired.

“Get out of my sight,” he says through gritted teeth, looking away from the boy. “Just… go to your room and stay there, do you understand? Don’t leave it until I say that it’s alright!”

Ryn nods desperately and takes off at a run. Querl hears Ryn’s bedroom door slam shut a few moments later. Only then does Querl allow himself to collapse in the bathroom floor, sobs shaking his body. Everything has just gone terribly wrong. He can’t be _pregnant_. But he is, and now he has to tell Lyle and he has to do something about Ryn.

After a while, he wipes away his tears and forces himself to get back up. He goes to Ryn’s room and quietly lets himself in. The boy is curled up on his bed, hugging his teddy bear, but he’s not asleep and he looks up at Querl fearfully.

“How did you get those pills?” Querl asks him calmly.

“I bought them with your credit account,” Ryn answers honestly. “I memorized your information. They came in the mail, and then I switched your headache pills with them.”

“Where is the bottle they came in?”

Ryn fetches the bottle out from under his bed and hands it over without hesitation. It has Querl’s headache pills inside it.

“Why did you do this?” Querl asks. His voice breaks as he speaks and his throat feels tight. “Why did you think you needed to make sure that Lyle and I get married?”

“Because you didn’t want to marry Lyle,” Ryn says forlornly. “I just wanted us to be a real family, always. I don’t want anyone else to leave me.”

“We’re not going to leave you.” Querl shakes his head incredulously. How could Ryn think that was even a possibility? “We love you and this is already a family. You didn’t have to do this just because Lyle and I aren’t married yet. That would have happened eventually anyway.”

“I’m sorry,” Ryn says again.

“That’s not good enough,” Querl says firmly, clenching the pill bottle in his hand. “What you did was unacceptable. I cannot just tell you that you’re forgiven and it’s okay now, because it’s not and you have to learn that you can’t manipulate people like this to get what you want. So you’re grounded. You’ll have to stay in your room until I can think of a suitable punishment.”

“Punishment?” the boy asks fearfully.

“I’m not going to hit you.” Querl takes a deep, shaky breath. “I will _never_ hit you, but you have to be punished. Lyle and I will decide what that will be.”

Ryn nods, looking away from Querl. “I’m sorry. I love you, Querl.”

“I love you too,” Querl whispers. He backs out of the room. “Please think about what you’ve done.”

He shuts Ryn’s door firmly and then leans heavily against it. What a mess this is turning out to be.

\--

Lyle has been in the basement all day conducting an experiment for work. When he comes back up, he finds that the house is oddly quiet. Ryn and Brainy aren’t outside or in the living room. Lyle checks the kitchen but again doesn’t find them, so he heads upstairs to the bedrooms.

He finds Brainy in their room, sitting on the bed and staring at a pill bottle in his hands.

“Hey, something wrong?” he asks gently, going over to sit beside his boyfriend. “Did the doctor call back?”

“Yeah,” Brainy admits quietly. He holds the pill bottle out to Lyle.

“What’s this?” Lyle asks as he takes it.

Brainy huffs and shakes his head. “Well, it’s _not_ meant for headaches,” he says vaguely.

“Okay…” Lyle turns the bottle over in his hands and carefully reads the label. He nearly chokes when he realizes what, exactly, it is. “This is a fertility drug!”

“That is correct.” Brainy takes a deep breath, like he’s trying to keep from crying. “The doctor called back and said that I’m pregnant. I told him that wasn’t possible, because I’m not on a fertility drug. But then I checked my pills, and they were different. And when I questioned Ryn about it, he said he switched them. So it’s true. I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, is that all?” Lyle says faintly, feeling the room tilt dangerously. “You’re… pregnant?”

He is aware then that Brainy isn’t breathing quite right. His breaths are coming too fast, his chest heaving up and down. He’s starting to hyperventilate.

“Whoa, B, easy does it.” Lyle wraps an arm around Brainy’s shoulders and pulls him into a tight hug. “Hush now, it’s okay. I guess you weren’t joking, were you? Why would Ryn switch your pills? _How_ did he switch them?”

“He ordered them online,” Brainy says, leaning against Lyle’s shoulder. “He said he wanted us to get married, so we wouldn’t leave him.”

“Grife,” Lyle whispers. “I can’t believe he actually managed that…”

Brainy shakes his head. “I should have known. I was his age once, and I was the same way. It was just me; I didn’t consider other peoples’ feelings. If I wanted something, I did what I had to in order to get my way. The difference is that I was locked up where I couldn’t do any damage.”

“Don’t talk that way,” Lyle says firmly, squeezing Brainy’s shoulders. “You didn’t deserve to be locked up. And neither does Ryn. He just wanted us all to be happy. He doesn’t understand the consequences of his actions but he’ll learn as he gets older.”

“The damage is done,” Brainy says dully. “I’m pregnant.”

“That doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Lyle says tenderly, trying hard not to be too hopeful about this. He’s wanted a baby so much but Brainy isn’t ready. “Just think about it; this is our own child. It’s amazing that we even have the option of having our own baby. And we should have been able to make that choice ourselves, yeah, but I can’t say that I’m unhappy with how this turned out.”

Brainy grits his teeth and pushes Lyle away. “I told you that I don’t want children. How can you be happy about this? My _body_ has been altered without my consent!”

“Easy, easy,” Lyle placates, mentally berating himself for not being more careful with his choice of words. “I’m trying to stay on the bright side. I’m sorry, I know this has to be traumatic for you. But Brainy, you have options and… I’ll support whatever your decision is, alright?”

“Even if I want to terminate it?” Brainy asks, glaring at him. “Will you support me if I kill it?”

Every fiber of Lyle’s being screams in protest as he opens his mouth and replies, “Of course. It’s your body, and it’s your choice.”

At that, Brainy seems to deflate. He folds in on himself, hands gripping his knees, and he looks so incredibly young and terrified. Lyle knows before Brainy says it out loud that the Coluan will go through with the pregnancy. Brainy has seen too much death to want to be the cause of more.

“I’ll need to make another appointment at the clinic,” Brainy says eventually. “To make sure that everything is… as it should be.”

“It’s going to be alright,” Lyle promises. “I love you so much and we’re going to get through this together.”

It’s easy for him to say that, he knows, since he’s not the one pregnant. Brainy is probably thinking the exact same thing. But even if their roles were reversed, he’d leave the ultimate decision up to Brainy, because he knows how scared Brainy is to be a parent.

“I have to punish Ryn,” Brainy says, and he looks even more miserable about that. “I don’t know how. I’ve never punished someone before. I don’t want to hurt him but I don’t know how to make it clear to him that what he did was wrong. And he has to learn, Lyle, because he could hurt someone next time or get himself in trouble. And people don’t understand Brainiacs. If we do something wrong, there’s always someone ready to crucify us for it.”

Lyle hates the thought of punishing Ryn, but he knows that comes with being a parent and an adult. This time, they definitely can’t just let Ryn off the hook without repercussions. But Lyle doesn’t know how to properly discipline a child either.  He doesn’t even like to think about it, because when he does he remembers his dad screaming, lashing out physically for petty reasons, and his mom cowering, unable to stand up for herself.

“We’ll restrict what he can do by himself,” Lyle suggests. “No more computer access unless one of us is right there with him. And we can’t leave him by himself anymore. He’ll have to be with one of us at all times so we can monitor him. Most importantly, we have to talk to him about this. In his mind, he wasn’t wrong. He’s just too young to think it through like he should.”

“That’s fair,” Brainy agrees quietly, nodding. “We should probably go and talk to him, then. I left him in his room and he was very upset.”

But when they get to Ryn’s room, they find the door open and Ryn’s not inside. There’s a note lying on the bed, written in tiny, careful handwriting. Lyle picks it and reads off the message.

“Lyle and Querl, I am not running away because I would probably starve to death. So I am going out to think about what I did, like Querl told me. I will be back soon, so don’t send out a search party. Love, Ryn.”

Brainy laughs sharply once before quickly covering his mouth. He shakes his head. “Don’t send out a search party…”

“He’s probably in the barn,” Lyle suggests. “I’ve seen him go up to the loft by himself a few times when he’s upset about something.”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Brainy volunteers. “You just start making us something to eat. No one has had any supper yet.”

Even though Lyle has his doubts about Brainy’s ability to communicate properly with small children, he agrees and heads to the kitchen to cook something. Maybe this time, the skill needed is the ability to understand how a Coluan child’s mind works, and Brainy’s the best candidate for that.

\--

Ryn has perched himself in the open window of the loft, where he thinks they probably threw hay down back when the barn was used as a real barn. This is where he likes to go when he’s mad or upset about something, because he tries not to be overly emotional in front of his guardians. He doesn’t want them to be mad at him, but he does occasionally have childish impulses that he can’t control.

Right now, he imagines that Querl hates him. He’s been sitting up here for a while and no one has come looking for him, which means Querl really doesn’t want to see him right now. The gravity of the situation is gradually becoming clear to him. When he’d first dreamed up his plan, he’d known that he was doing something that might be frowned upon, but he hadn’t expected Querl to lose it like that. People like babies, don’t they? Why does Querl hate the idea of having one so much?

Maybe Querl just hates kids in general. Maybe he doesn’t like Ryn at all and he only took Ryn in because he had to. Of course, Querl says he loves Ryn, but that’s necessarily true. People lie all the time. In particular, people lie to Ryn all the time, because he’s a child and children aren’t supposed to know the truth about things.

Quiet footsteps on the stairs alert Ryn to Querl’s arrival. He can tell the difference between Lyle’s footsteps and Querl’s. Lyle places his feet very carefully, barely making any noise at all. He moves so gracefully that he reminds Ryn of a dancer sometimes. Querl’s footsteps are evenly placed and more solid than Lyle’s, like he’s grounding himself in preparation for something to knock him backwards at any moment.

“I told you to stay in your room,” Querl says when he reaches the top of the stairs. He’s quiet for a moment, maybe waiting for a response from Ryn. When Ryn says nothing, he continues. “Lyle said you’ve been coming up here when you get upset. I haven’t actually been up here yet.”

He comes and sits down beside Ryn, staring out at the view. “You can see a lot from up here, can’t you?”

“Yeah, you can see a long way,” Ryn replies quietly. He glances at Querl discretely, almost afraid to openly stare at his brother. He’s really hurt Querl’s feelings, and he deserves to be punished for that. The thought makes him shiver. “You can punish me, Querl. It’s okay, I deserve it.”

Querl stiffens, a scowl spreading across his face. “I’m not going to hit you. Maybe Mother punished you that way, but it wasn’t right. And I’m not going to treat you the way that she did.”

Ryn doesn’t like it when Querl talks about Mother like that. Mother is a wonderful person, and Ryn deserved it every time he was punished. Well, maybe he didn’t always deserve it, but sometimes it was just for Mother’s sake. She needed Ryn to help her feel. That was Ryn’s job.

“Do you hate me now?” he asks Querl glumly. “Since I messed up big time?”

“That would be very hypocritical of me,” Querl replies, shrugging his shoulders. “Believe it or not, I… understand. When I was your age, I didn’t have anyone. If I’d had the opportunity to make my life better, I probably would have done worse things. That doesn’t make what you did okay. But I know why you did it, and I don’t hate you.”

“So, is that it?” Ryn asks, confused. “You’re just… disappointed?”

His brother snorts in amusement. “Ha, very funny. You’re definitely still in trouble. Lyle and I have talked about it. You won’t be able to use the computers anymore unless one of us is monitoring you. And since you’ve displayed a willingness to sneak behind our backs to do things, you’ll have to be with one of us at all times. At least until you’re old enough to control yourself better.”

“That’s not fair,” Ryn mutters sullenly. “I can’t _always_ be with one of you.”

“Oh, yes you can,” says Querl. The man looks down at him with a stern expression. “Thanks to you, I’ll be spending most of my time at home for a while. There’s no point in me trying to get a job when I’ll just have to take leave in a few months anyway. You’re lucky that Lyle and I are well off or that would pose a problem.”

Ryn sneaks a glance at Querl’s middle. That’s where the baby is supposed to grow, he knows. Before he did his research, he’d just sort of assumed that babies appeared out of nowhere. But it’s not that easy, really. “Are you going to get really round, Querl?”

“Yes.” Querl grimaces like he really hates the thought. “And I’ll have you know that it’s very hard for me to stay in shape anyway, and it’s going to be really difficult to regain all that muscle now that I’m not in the Legion anymore.”

“But you’ll have a baby. That’s supposed to be worth it.” Ryn looks up at Querl shyly. “I’m really sorry. I just wanted us to be happy. And… I really liked the idea of having a little brother or sister.”

“Technically, you’ll be an uncle,” Querl reminds him.

“Biologically, yes,” Ryn says, “but socially, I’d be the big brother.”

Querl laughs then, though Ryn isn’t sure what it is that he finds amusing. The older Coluan peers down at him, his eyes a little brighter than they were before. “Do you realize how brilliant you are compared to everyone else, Ryn? It’s amazing. You’re just like me.”

Oh, that’s what’s funny. Yes, Ryn can see why Querl is amused now. They resemble each other so much that Querl’s old friends and coworkers, like Aunt Imra and Uncle Garth, sometimes slip and call Ryn, “Brainy.” That’s what Lyle calls Querl, and it seems like a kind of insulting nickname but Ryn has never heard Querl complain about it.

But it’s to be expected that Querl and Ryn are alike. They’re brothers. The baby, on the other hand, won’t be just like them. It will be a mix of Querl and Lyle, and maybe a little girl instead of a boy. Ryn can’t wait to find out what it’s like.

He reaches out and wraps his arms around Querl’s middle, resting his head against his brother’s still flat stomach. “I’ll take good care of the baby, Querl, I promise. I already love her, I think. And I’ll teach her everything I know, just like you teach me things.”

“You’ll be a wonderful big brother,” Querl assures him. The man’s arms wrap around him, hugging him close. “It’s not you that I’m worried about.”

Ryn thinks he knows what Querl is afraid of. He snuggles a little closer to his brother. “You’re a great parent, so you shouldn’t be afraid,” he says solemnly.

“…You think?” Querl asks, sounding unsure.

“Absolutely,” Ryn replies. “And I’m one of the smartest people in the universe, so you can take my word for it.”

When Querl laughs again, Ryn thinks that was probably exactly what Querl needed to hear.

TBC


	10. Sun Come Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smallville didn't seem complete to me without Chloe Sullivan, so she managed to nose her way into this chapter.

**Chapter 10: Sun Come Rising**

 _Let’s stay awake and listen to the dark_

 _Before the birds, before they all wake up_

 _It’s the ending of a play, and soon begins another_

 _Hear the leaves applaud the wind_

 **  
_-Emiliana Torrini, “Birds”_   
**

There are many wonderful things about having a baby. Unfortunately, as Lyle is discovering, there also many unpleasant things about it. Brainy is eight weeks pregnant, just barely starting to show and so incredibly pissed off about it that Lyle just isn’t sure what to do about it.

Their first prenatal appointment is coming up in just a few days and Brainy is agitated. He has worried nonstop for the last few weeks, convinced that there will be something wrong with the fetus due to the conditions of its conception. Lyle has tried to console him, but he won’t be consoled.

And this morning, Brainy has been in front of the mirror for a full twenty minutes, examining and re-examining what he is convinced is a slight curve in his middle, indication of the baby’s presence.

“I don’t see anything,” Lyle says for the fifth time. “Maybe you’re starting to… spread out a little, but it’s far from obvious just yet.”

“ _Spread out_?” Brainy repeats incredulously, turning to look at Lyle with a venomous glare. “Could you be _any_ more insensitive?”

“Oh, come on, B,” Lyle replies, rolling his eyes. “Since when are you concerned about your weight? The scientific fact is that you’re going to be _spreading out_ quite a bit.”

Brainy’s jaw drops. He whirls around to fully face Lyle, one finger raised threateningly in the air. “You nass! This is your fault!”

“My fault?” Lyle repeats, astounded. “How, exactly, is this my fault? Did I switch your pills?”

“You planted the idea in Ryn’s head!” Brainy insists. “And I didn’t knock myself up, Lyle, I had plenty of help!”

This is absolutely nuts. Brainy’s hormones are completely out of whack already. According to the research Lyle has done, that’s completely normal for a male pregnancy. It’s not abnormal for Brainy under normal circumstances, if Lyle is perfectly honest. Except that this is like normal pissed Brainy amped up to about fifty times worse.

“Babe, you need to calm down,” Lyle placates. “Let’s be completely logical about this. You like logic. It’s your friend. And logically, I’m telling you, things are going to happen to your body that you’re not necessarily going to like, because that’s what happens. But it’s worth it.”

It helps, just a little. Brainy calms down long enough to get dressed so they can both head to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Ryn is already there, seated at the table and patiently waiting for them. He points at the living room when he sees them.

“Someone was calling in,” he says. “I think they left a message. Some pretty lady and I think she was calling for Lyle.”

Frowning, Lyle hurries to the computer. He hits the play button on the message receiver and nearly jumps out of his skin when his mother’s image flickers to life on the screen.

“Lyle, sweetie, I heard that you moved. Lon and I were wondering if you might call us sometime and tell us how you’re doing. I know we don’t talk much, but I would like to try and keep in touch if that’s still possible. Call me back.”

The message is brief and to the point, and then Lila Norg’s image disappears from the screen. Lyle feels just a little irritation. Well, she was never around much when he was a kid either, so why should he expect anything different now? But why is she bothering to seek him out? He’s always been the one to call _her_ , never the other way around.

“Who was that?” Ryn pipes up from behind him.

“My mom,” Lyle replies, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. “I’ll call her back later. What do you want for breakfast?”

It’s funny, because he was never really a cook. Well, he’d never tried it before, honestly. There was always food to be had in the Legion, and before that he always just went over to the Focart’s house when he was hungry, or bought something to eat with the salary his parents’ gave to him. Even working for Black Hole, there was very little reason to ever cook anything.

Now, here he is, cooking nearly every meal for himself and his new family. Letting Brainy cook had proved near disastrous, so now Lyle handles it himself. He’s gotten good at making pancakes, which Ryn loves. He fixes Ryn’s pancakes with chocolate chips, his own with blueberries, and Brainy’s plain. It’s a bit of a chore, making everyone’s different, but Lyle firmly believes that a happy breakfast is the key to having a happy day.

“Why’d your mother call?” Brainy asks between mouthfuls of pancake. “Your parents never call.”

Lyle shrugs his shoulders. “I think my mom’s been feeling guilty about not keeping in touch since I’ve moved back to Earth. It can’t hurt to humor her.”

He picks at his breakfast halfheartedly and watches Brainy do the same. Brainy needs to eat well, to keep his strength up, but it makes him ill to his stomach most of the time. And Lyle doesn’t think it would be fair to fuss at Brainy to eat when he’s not even all that hungry himself.

“You could just ignore her,” Brainy suggests, ill-tempered. “She’s done nothing for you.”

“She’s my _mother_ ,” Lyle replies, giving Brainy an incredulous look. “I can at least make time to call her now and then; I’m not just going to ignore her.”

Silence falls over the three of them. Brainy slowly sets his fork down and stares at his plate with a stony expression. Belatedly, Lyle realizes that this is a sore spot for Brainy and his words were not well chosen. Then again, it was out of line for Brainy to tell him to ignore his mother.

“Look, it’s not a big deal,” he grumbles. “Eat your breakfast, please?”

“Not hungry,” Brainy replies, pushing his plate away.

Ryn is making a point of not looking at either of them as he shovels his pancakes into his mouth as quickly as he can. He mumbles a quick “thank you” to Lyle before climbing out of his chair and scurrying out of the kitchen.

“You have to eat,” Lyle says gently once Ryn is out of earshot. “It’s not good for the baby-“

“Shut up about the baby!” Brainy interrupts fiercely. “I said I’m not hungry. There is no point in eating anything if I’m just going to vomit in a few hours and lose all of it.”

Lyle takes a deep breath and reminds himself to stay calm and not get frustrated with his lover. This is just how Brainy is; confrontational. He doesn’t mean to be abrupt or rude, and he didn’t mean to be so dismissive of Lyle’s mother. No doubt, Brainy has just made up his mind that he doesn’t like Lyle’s parents because he knows how crummy they were when Lyle was younger.

“You’re getting sick too often,” Lyle murmurs, rising from his seat. “I’ll make you some tea. When we go to your appointment, we should talk to the doctor about it. Something could be wrong.”

Brainy’s arms wrap around himself defensively. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Yeah, but I’m not.” Lyle tries to smile at Brainy. He draws down a cup from the cabinet. “Are you having a bad day?”

“No more so than usual,” Brainy replies with a shrug. “… If you call your mother, are you going to tell her about… you know…?”

Oh, he hasn’t even told his mother about Ryn yet. Lyle freezes, realizing that his mother is going to be very offended when she discovers that he hasn’t told her about the boy, and even more so when he tells her that Brainy is expecting.

“She’s a good person,” he says quickly, busying himself with the tea kettle. “It’s not like she’ll have a problem with this. She’ll just be upset that I didn’t tell her sooner. I suppose I could invite her out here for a couple of days. That might cheer her up.”

“You’re inviting your _mother_ to our _house_?” Brainy asks in horror. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Lyle whirls around to fix his lover with a stern look. “No, you don’t. Suck it up, alright? At least _your_ mother-in-law isn’t a homicidal maniac.”

“Uncalled for,” Brainy tells him flatly. “My mother has many positive attributes, aside from being completely crazy. What about yours?”

For a moment, Lyle fidgets, trying to come up with something. “… I get my looks from her,” he says finally.

“Good for you.” Brainy crosses his arms over his chest. “The point is, I wouldn’t invite _my_ mother over and it’s not like you’ve got a loving relationship with yours. It’s a bad idea, don’t do it.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Lyle demands irritably. “Maybe she won’t like you, or maybe she’ll complain about the house. One visit, and then I’m sure she’ll get over this idea of reconnecting with me and we won’t have to worry about it anymore. I doubt she’ll even bring my father, she’ll probably come alone.”

He can tell that Brainy isn’t happy with him, but this is one area where Brainy really doesn’t get a say. Yes, his parents suck, but he still owes them his life and his mother has always at least been kind to him, if neglectful. Surely Brainy understands that Lyle still loves his parents, despite their faults.

However, Brainy does not seem to understand at all. His face screws up, like he’s just had a big drink of sour milk. “Your _father_ might come?”

“Probably not,” Lyle says, shaking his head. “I haven’t even called them yet, will you relax?”

Sullenly, Brainy forces down a few more mouthfuls of pancake before abandoning his breakfast entirely. “Is that tea done yet?”

Lyle sets the cup of tea down in front of his lover a little harder than is necessary. “Yes, your majesty.”

“No need for that attitude,” Brainy grumbles, looking a little wounded. He’ll back off now that he’s seen how annoyed Lyle is with him. “… Thanks.”

Lyle kisses the top of his head instead of responding out loud. He knows better than to expect an apology; those are few and far between with Brainy. At least the other man tries his best, even if he’s not always the easiest person to live with. For many things, Lyle is very grateful.

\--

As predicted, Lila is not pleased when she learns how much has happened that Lyle has not called to tell her about. She is not snappy or rude about expressing her displeasure, but Lyle can tell by the look on her face that her feelings are hurt.

“I suppose I knew you had plans to marry the boy,” she says, pursing her lips together. “I didn’t expect you’d have children with him. It’s alright, of course. I’m not criticizing you. I just… had hoped you would tell me more about… about Querl, you know, what he’s like and how the two of you get along.”

Lyle forces himself to smile reassuringly at her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I know I haven’t been in touch like I should, but… well, you know why I don’t call very often.”

It is unfortunate that this conversation is taking place on a vidscreen and not in person, because Lila looks like she might cry and Lyle wishes he could embrace her. He does love his mother, and she has always loved him, even though she was never brave enough to stand up to his father, nor attentive enough to spend time with him like she should have.

“Yes, well, I do know,” Lila replies brusquely. “I do understand, sweetie. But, then… tell me about your family. Tell me about Querl.”

This time Lyle’s smile is more genuine. “He’s amazing, Mom. I mean, you’d probably think he was weird; most people do. But he’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, and he tries harder than anyone else to always do the right thing. He took in Ryn without even hesitating, and… you know, he’s rubbish with kids, really, but he does the best he can.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” his mother says. “Congratulations on the baby. I hope I can visit my grandchild someday.”

“How about… how about you come down sometime?” Lyle offers nervously. “I know we haven’t actually seen each other in a long time, but it might be nice. Brainy – Querl, that is – he’s never had a real family before and he’s scared about the baby. Maybe you could talk to him about what it was like for you when you had me.”

Just like that, his mother’s face lights up. “Really? You wouldn’t mind if I came to see you? I think I could arrange to come next week, if you’ll be home. That’s not too soon, is it?”

“Oh, next week would be fine,” Lyle replies easily, although inwardly he’s cursing himself for making the offer. Brainy is going to be so incredibly pissed. “I look forward to seeing you, Mom.”

\--

She rings the doorbell nervously, clutching the pan of potato casserole that she brought with her in trembling hands. She tells herself to calm down, because it shouldn’t be such a big deal. The inhabitants of this house aren’t celebrities, after all. They’re more like well known war veterans, truthfully.

The door opens and a young man with green skin looks out at her curiously. She instantly recognizes him as Brainiac 5 – Querl Dox – who served as the brains of the Legion.

“Can I help you?” he asks her, staring at her blankly.

“Oh, hi, my name’s Chloe Sullivan,” she says brightly, flashing him her trademark smile. “I, umm, I’m your neighbor. I brought you a casserole!”

She holds the casserole out to him with flourish and he stares at it for a moment, as though he isn’t sure what he’s supposed to with it.

“Lyle, there’s a neighbor at the door!” the green skinned man calls over his shoulder. He backs away from the door, his expression guarded. “Umm, my boyfriend can… take the casserole,” he says lamely before shrugging his shoulders and shuffling out of the room.

For a moment, Chloe can do nothing but stand there, casserole in hand, and wonder if she did something that perhaps insulted Querl Dox.

Then another man enters the room, looking frazzled. “Brainy, what are you yelling about?” he calls as he enters the room.

He sees Chloe and pauses, looking shocked at first. Quickly, he recovers and smiles at her. “Oh, there really is a neighbor at the door! Did he just leave you here?”

Chloe nods and helplessly offers up her casserole again. “I, umm, told him that I brought you guys a casserole. I just moved to town and I’m trying to make new acquaintances and I heard that… you know, goodwill gifts and all… I’m sorry if I offended him.”

“No, no,” the young man says, shaking his head. “He’s not offended, just weird. I’m sorry about that. Thank you for the casserole. I’m Lyle Norg. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Chloe Sullivan,” Chloe says, relaxing a little. “It’s nice to meet you too, Lyle.”

He takes the casserole from her, immediately making her feel a lot better. At least she doesn’t feel like such a dork holding it out like that anymore.

“Come on in,” he urges. “So, you just moved to Smallville? We haven’t been here long either.”

“Yeah, I heard that you guys are the first people to live in this house for as long as anyone can remember,” Chloe says. She chooses her words carefully because if she doesn’t, she’ll look pretty creepy. “They say this house… well, you know, they say Superman lived here as a child.”

Lyle pauses for a moment, then smiles again. “Yes, that’s what they say. You know, I was just about to fix lunch but since you’ve brought this casserole over, why don’t you stay and eat it with us? We could use the company. We haven’t really gotten to know any of our neighbors yet.”

“Oh, really? I’d love to!” Chloe grins. This is going much better than expected. She follows Lyle to the kitchen. “So, how did you guys get this place?”

“Well, it belonged to Querl’s guardian,” Lyle explains, but he looks a little nervous about it. “Uh, Querl is my boyfriend, the one you met earlier. We needed a bigger place, since we just adopted Querl’s little brother. A three year-old in a city apartment was kind of crazy.”

“A three year-old?” Chloe asks in shock. Her research hadn’t said anything about a three year-old. “Wow, that’s a big commitment.”

Just then, a little boy who is the spitting image of Brainiac 5 comes barreling into the kitchen, yelling at the top of his lungs. He sees Chloe right before he collides with her and ducks to the side to avoid her, causing him to slide under the kitchen table. He peers out from under the table at her, bewildered.

“I don’t know you,” he accuses childishly. “Who are you?”

She bends down and smiles at him. “My name’s Chloe. I’m your neighbor. What’s your name?”

“Ryn Dox.” He puffs up his chest proudly. Then he smiles back at her sweetly. “You’re really pretty, Chloe.”

Lyle sets the casserole on the table and reaches down to Ryn. The boy lifts his arms up and Lyle hoists him up with a grin. “What are you running from, sweetie?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Ryn tells him solemnly.

Chloe can’t help it. She bursts out into giggles.

“Silence, infidel!” Ryn cries, pointing at her accusingly. Then he smiles again. “Just joking!”

“He likes you already,” Lyle remarks, sounding surprised. He sets Ryn back down and ruffles his hair. “Sweetie, go find your brother, okay? It’s time for lunch.”

Ryn scampers off, only to return a few minutes later with Querl in tow. The Coluan looks very, very tired and he regards Chloe suspiciously.

“You’re still here?” he asks rather rudely.

“She brought us a casserole, so she’s going to stay for lunch and eat it with us,” Lyle speaks up, giving his boyfriend a disapproving look. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Just tired,” Querl replies with a sigh, taking a seat at the table. He grimaces and rubs his temples. “I have a headache too.”

“I’ll make you some tea,” Lyle offers. He glances over at Chloe. “Miss Sullivan, please have a seat.”

Chloe obediently sits down across from Querl. He is a curious being, easy to recognize by the white discs that seem to be set into the skin of his forehead. He regards her in return with keen eyes that seem to see her so clearly that she has an irrational fear that he knows exactly why she is here.

She is such a snoop. What is she even doing here? These people obviously want nothing more than to live in peace, and Querl is visibly unwell. It’s her damned curiosity that’s brought her this far.

“So, Miss Sullivan,” Querl speaks up. “You’re our neighbor, are you? What do you do for a living?”

“I’m an historian,” she replies easily. It’s not a lie, not really. “To be honest, I have a passion for Superman lore. When I heard that this house had been restored, I obviously wanted to come and investigate the renovations. It’s a beautiful home.”

“An historian?” Lyle speaks up curiously. “That’s very interesting. You know, Brainy is…”

“… The descendent of Superman’s nemesis, Brainiac,” Chloe interjects. “Yes, I do know. What a fascinating heritage.”

Querl looks very uncomfortable, and even Lyle’s smile fades. The human laughs nervously and sets a cup of tea in front of his boyfriend. “Well, I was going to say that Brainy is also a bit of a Superman geek, though he hates to admit it. And Ryn here absolutely adores Superman stories. Can I get you some tea, Miss Sullivan?”

Feeling sheepish, Chloe nods. “Yes, please, I mean… Well, I’m sorry if I brought up a touchy subject. I was out of line.”

Grife, she can feel the story here in her bones. What a fascinating tale it would make; the descendent of Superman’s legendary enemy coming to Smallville to reside in this historic home where the Kent’s raised a hero to be strong and good. It could be a documentary. It would be all over the headlines.

Silence falls over the room for a moment before Querl breaks it. “You say you’re an historian? That’s not known as being a terribly lucrative field.”

Chloe stiffens, a little taken aback by the statement. “Oh, I do alright.”

“Yes, I suppose you do,” Querl says between sips of tea. “Your clothes are very nice. I’m no expert on fashion, but I do recognize the fabric used. It’s very expensive – usually only used for designer labels. And yet you can afford them on an historian’s salary. Are you sure that’s your only job?”

“Querl,” Lyle says sharply, regarding his boyfriend with disapproval. “That’s none of our business.”

“No, it’s alright.” Chloe tries to keep a smile on her face but she can feel Querl’s eyes boring into her. “You’re very astute, Mr. Dox. You’re correct, I have another job. I’m also a journalist.”

Such a small admission seems to set Querl off. He jumps from his seat, nearly upsetting his tea in the process, and he sees right through her.

“I knew it! A damn _spy_ in my _house_. What do you think you’re doing here?! Did we invite you here? No, you just sidled in here as if it didn’t matter. And you’re planning what, exactly? To make a newspaper story about us pathetic Coluans trying to live on Earth like we actually belong here?”

“I… No, please, I didn’t mean any harm,” Chloe tries to explain desperately. “I just came to meet you! I swear! And yes, I… I thought maybe there was a good story here but I would never have done anything without your permission. Please calm down.”

But Querl will not be calmed. He shakes his head furiously and points to the door. “You are _not_ welcome here. I will not have my family’s privacy invaded for the amusement of pathetic people who have nothing better to do with their time. Please leave, _now_.”

Chloe looks to Lyle, but the human is pale as snow and makes no move to defend her.

“Perhaps, Miss Sullivan,” the young man says, “you should leave for now. I think we have not been introduced to each other properly. As I’m sure you can understand, it is upsetting to us that you were not honest from the start.”

He stands from his seat as well and watches her expectantly, so Chloe sees no option but to rise as well. Lyle is gracious in guiding her to the door.

“Listen,” he says quietly, “I don’t think you meant us any harm. Brainy’s been going through some stuff lately and he’s not a very trusting person. I hope you understand that I just can’t risk letting him get too upset right now.”

She nods, her expression tight. “I am sorry. I… hope to see you around.”

“Same here, Miss Sullivan,” Lyle says with a smile. Chloe can see how he managed to win over someone like Querl. “I’ll return your casserole dish to you soon. Thank you for the thoughtful gift.”

Lyle’s smile is easy but it doesn’t reach his eyes. He is being kind to Chloe, but she knows that he will protect Querl, first and foremost. She can see it clearly on his face that he loves his family more than anything.

So she leaves and lets the matter go for the time being. It’s a good story but it’s not worth the damage it could do.

\--

After the incident with Chloe Sullivan, Brainy becomes that much more determined to veto Lila’s upcoming visit. When he learns that Lila is also bringing Lon, he begins actively plotting ways to get out of it. Unfortunately, there’s the matter of the prenatal appointment.

Brainy has never been subjected to an exam like that while still conscious before. Lyle held his hand throughout the process, but Brainy was visibly scared and uncomfortable with the examination. In addition to the exam, the doctor they saw wanted to go over all of Brainy’s medical records, and closely questioned them about Brainy’s last hospital stay.

By the time the doctor even got around to discussing the possibility of a miscarriage, Brainy had been so drained that he’d just sagged against Lyle’s shoulder and closed his eyes, blocking the woman out. It had fallen to Lyle to try and remember everything else that the doctor said.

Now, it is up to Lyle to make Brainy take his various vitamins and supplements each day. Brainy is not good at keeping up with such things and will forget if Lyle does not remind him. This is difficult, considering that Brainy has decided to give him the cold shoulder about his parents visiting.

Ultimately, Brainy fails to stop Lyle’s parents from coming. The day they’re supposed to arrive, Lyle rushes about trying to tidy up while Brainy sits sulking in the living room. The Coluan makes a point of refusing to help Lyle in any way, which Lyle thinks is very childish. But it’s not like he can force Brainy to be in a better frame of mind, so he just doesn’t push the issue.

But his parents arrive a little sooner than expected and Lyle rushes to the door, still dressed in an apron from cleaning in the kitchen. His mother greets him animatedly and wraps her arms around him in a hug.

Lila has always been somewhat flamboyant, despite her meek personality. She has dyed her hair orange and is wearing thick-rimmed glasses even though she has perfect vision. Beside her, Lon appears very normal in his button-up shirt and slacks. Lon does not hug Lyle, but nods instead. There is an unspoken agreement between them that they will avoid physical contact with one another if at all possible.

“Sweetie, thank you so much for inviting us here,” Lila says, kissing Lyle’s cheek. “It means so much to us. Where are Querl and Ryn? We want to meet them!”

Brainy and Ryn are both hanging back in the living room uncertainly, not sure if they should say something first or let these newcomers make the first move. Luckily, when Lila catches sight of Brainy, she takes the decision out of their hands.

She moves past Lyle to Brainy, a broad smile on her face. “Oh, finally, we meet!” she exclaims, grasping his hands in her own. “Lyle has spoken so highly of you, Querl, and I can see that you truly are as lovely as he told us. How is the baby doing?”

Embarrassed, Brainy ducks his head. “Ah, well, I don’t know about lovely,” he mumbles nervously, “but the baby is… the baby is well. It’s early to say anything for certain, but we were given a good prognosis.”

“Are you showing yet?” Lila asks excitedly, eyeing Brainy’s baggy shirt. “I showed very early with Lyle. I was so round!”

“Err, just a little,” Querl says, drawing back.

Ryn pipes up, never one to be left out, “are you Lyle’s mom?”

“Oh, you must be Ryn!” Lila kneels down to Ryn’s level. “Yes, I’m Lyle’s mom. You can just call me Lila, sweetheart.”

“Your hair is very bright,” Ryn observes; which causes Lila to burst into giggles.

“Neon orange!” she replies cheerfully. “I chose the brightest color I could find.”

Lyle suddenly imagines Querl with neon orange hair and realizes it would look atrocious on him. He grimaces and hopes that his parents didn’t notice.

To Lyle’s surprise, his parents have nothing negative to say. Lila is so friendly that even Brainy warms up to her, despite trying very hard not to like her. Ryn thinks that Lila is grand, but is somewhat standoffish with Lon, which Lyle does not blame him for. Still, even Lon is respectful in a quiet, distant way.

They brought gifts with them, which Lyle tries to refuse, but they insist. Lila went to the trouble of shopping for baby clothes, carefully picked to be gender neutral since they don’t know the baby’s sex yet. Lyle thinks it’s too early to be buying things for the baby. They still don’t know that Brainy won’t have a miscarriage, and it will only be that much harder to deal with if there are things to remind them of the child after they lose it.

But Lila wants to talk about which room they’ll convert into a nursery, and she wants to know what sorts of names they’ve talked about, and she keeps giving tips on child rearing. None of these things have yet been discussed between Lyle and Brainy.

“Surely you’ve thought of names,” Lila exclaims, dismayed. “None at all?”

“Not really,” Brainy admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“What about Leila? That was my mother’s name. Well, it would only work for a girl, of course. Oh, Lyle, you could name it after your father if it’s a boy. Or your grandfather, his name was Lero.”

“Well, I was thinking maybe we shouldn’t go with an ‘L’ name,” Lyle admits with a frown. He doesn’t really care for the tradition himself. He’s been thinking of something simpler, more significant. But he’s not sure if Brainy will like the suggestion, and he hasn’t brought it up.

Lila looks disappointed for a minute but then smiles again. “Well, that’s fine too. What about a traditional name from Colu?”

“Not quite what we’re looking for,” Brainy says, shaking his head. “Colu and I have… strained relations. I suppose we just haven’t found the right name yet.”

It surprises Lyle that Brainy doesn’t want a Coluan name for the baby, but it makes sense. There has been a slow divorce between Brainy and his home planet. Lyle supposes that Colu never really did much for Brainy, except for robbing him of a childhood. He’d be bitter too, if it were him.

“Have you thought about getting married?” Lon finally speaks up, and Lyle can tell that this is the one matter in which he has an opinion. “It would probably be best to tie the knot before the baby comes. It’s just good sense.”

Brainy falls silent, retreating back into his shell. No amount of coaxing can get him to cheer up for the remainder of the visit.

At last, Lila announces that they should probably be heading home and the visit comes to an end. He endures another hug and kiss on the cheek from his mother as he sees them off. But Lon places a hand on his shoulder and regards him with a very serious expression.

“Treat that young man well,” his father warns him quietly. “You chose well, boy.”

For some reason, this makes Lyle feel a little better. It was, after all, basically an admission from his father that the man had not treated his family as he should have. And Lyle knows he won’t make the same mistakes. He loves his own family far too much to ever cause them any harm.

He waves as they drive off. Once again, his home is quiet and peaceful. He takes a deep breath of cool night air and grins to himself.

“We’re having a baby,” he murmurs to the big, empty space before him, because finally he can be happy about it. Finally he doesn’t feel guilty for it. “We’re having a _baby_!”

TBC


	11. Just Stay

**Chapter 11: Just Stay  
**

 _I don’t want to wait until tomorrow_

 _To tell you how I’d feel for the rest of my life_

 _You don’t want to waste another minute to realize_

 _Walking on the dark side of the evening_

 _Baby it is you that opened my eyes_

 _Burning like a fire on the water_

 _The city of black and white_

 _Won’t you just stay?_

 ** _-Mat Kearney, “City of Black and White”_**  

Everyone keeps asking Lyle if he’s going to ask Brainy to marry him. Truthfully, he’s planned all along to eventually do just that. Then there was Ryn, and Brainy was attacked, and they moved, and now Brainy’s pregnant and everything is crazy.

But still, the thought has stayed with him that he needs to find the right moment to ask Brainy. And in order to ask Brainy properly, he needs the right _tools._

He spends several weeks making a special gift for Brainy. It takes him so long because he can only work on it at night, under the pretense of having to keep up with his job, after Brainy goes to bed. He wants it to be a surprise. He has a feeling that Brainy is going to love it.

When it’s finally ready, he tucks the tiny box that houses the gift into his pocket. He waits all day, trying to find just the right moment to pop the question. Brainy’s cranky and doesn’t seem willing to cheer up. By the time the sun starts to set, it seems like the right moment isn’t going to come. Lyle wonders if it was all a lost cause from the start while he watches Brainy clean the kitchen.

Nesting instinct has kicked in for Brainy, and he has become paranoid with keeping the house clean. This was previously Lyle’s job, though he’d be happy to hand it off to Brainy if only his lover wouldn’t make such a big deal about it. Now Brainy is complaining about how long it takes to do the dishes, even though he elected to wash them himself.

“Brainy,” Lyle tries to interject. It’s now or never.

“Surely we could install a dishwasher,” Brainy keeps griping, as though he hasn’t heard Lyle at all.

“Brainy.”

“I mean, sure, it’s not original to the house, but we’ve installed plenty of technology that’s not original to the house. Dishwashing takes too much time!”

“Brainy!”

The Coluan jumps in surprise and glances over at Lyle sheepishly. “Yes, Lyle?”

Lyle sighs, relieved, and starts to reach into his pocket. “The dishwasher can wait. I made something for you.”

“You did?” Brainy’s face lights up and he takes his hands out of the soapy dishwasher, drying them. “What is it?”

This is it. This is the moment. And it’s not as romantic as Lyle had hoped it would be, but he has to get this over with. Because he loves Brainy, and he wants to be with Brainy forever, and he wants to be there for his lover if anything ever happens to him.

He pulls out the box and hands it to Brainy. “See for yourself. It’s not much.”

Brainy takes the box eagerly and pops it open. When he sees the twin golden rings resting inside it, he freezes. “Lyle, these are rings.”

“One for me, one for you,” Lyle agrees, taking one ring and slipping it on. “A good friend of mine was working on something else and he accidentally made this stuff called Valorium. It’s actually really useful, if you give it a chance.”

“Valorium…” Brainy looks completely lost as he lifts the other ring from the box.

Lyle gently takes the ring from him and then goes down on one knee, offering the ring up to his lover. “Querl Dox, I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. You’re my partner and my best friend, the mother of my child and the love of my life. Will you marry me?”

For a minute, fear grips him, because Brainy doesn’t immediately respond. But then he sees that Brainy’s eyes are bright with tears.

“Yes,” Brainy manages to choke out. “Of course I’ll marry you, Lyle.”

A grin spreads across Lyle’s face as he takes Brainy’s hand and slides the ring onto the appropriate finger. He stands up and draws Brainy into a deep kiss.

When they break apart, they’re both smiling. “You’ve just made me the happiest man in the universe,” Lyle says, even though he knows it’s cheesy. He can’t help it. Brainy inspires in him romantic cliché.

“You just made me _happy_ ,” Brainy replies, still sounding choked. And Lyle realizes exactly what that means, and he kisses Brainy’s cheek tenderly.

“One more thing,” he whispers, grasping Brainy’s hands in his own. And the two of them lift off the ground, hovering a few feet over the floor. “The rings – they _fly_.”

\--

Ryn, predictably, takes all the credit for his guardians finally agreeing to tie the knot. He’s excited about it for days after they tell him, and that’s probably why they end up setting a date. Brainy is starting on his fourth month of pregnancy now and finally showing. As lovely as Lyle thinks his lover is becoming, Brainy wants to get married before he’s “too pregnant to waddle down the aisle.”

So they decide to have a small ceremony on the farm and set if for three weeks later, so that the friends they want to invite have time to make arrangements to come. They want to keep it simple, but then Ayla and Violet get their hands on it and start coming up with a far more elaborate wedding.

Lyle’s not complaining, though. Because even if Brainy would probably like it better if it was a quiet affair, Lyle would just as soon shout from the rooftops to the whole universe, and beyond that, that he is _finally_ getting married to Querl Dox, and they’re having a _baby_.

They decide to wear their old uniforms in the ceremony. Brainy suggested tuxedos, but it didn’t quite feel like them. So they go with the uniforms, because the Legion is what brought them together in the first place and they want to include that in the wedding.

The ceremony abides by Earth customs, since Colu’s customs are too cold for even Brainy’s liking. Ryn is the ring bearer, Mr. Brande will walk Brainy down the aisle, and Lila begs to do the same for Lyle. Reep is Lyle’s Best Man – they have been good friends since joining the Legion. Brainy spends a long time thinking about who to choose as his Best Man, only to have Ayla unexpectedly ask to be the Maid of Honor. Since Ayla has already helped with planning so much, Brainy decides she’s a logical enough choice and agrees, even though he points out to her that she was Imra’s Maid of Honor as well.

“And I’m still a maid!” Ayla replies to that with a jovial laugh. “So I still count!”

The wedding party camps out at the house for a week beforehand, which almost drives Brainy crazy, who in turn almost drives Lyle crazy. It’s just lucky that Brainy’s hormones and morning sickness have finally leveled off.

The business of setting everything up in the field is handled by Garth and Rokk, who see to it that everything is where it should be. Tents are set up with tables and chairs beneath them for a grand celebration after the ceremony, and more chairs are arranged in rows for the ceremony itself. They all pray that it won’t rain on the day of the wedding.

And then they realize that Brainy’s uniform will have to be altered. The look on Brainy’s face when he first tries it on is so utterly heartbroken that Lyle can’t help giggling a little.

“You’re not showing too much, B,” he placates when Brainy nearly has a complete mental breakdown over it. “It’s just that the uniform is too tight. We’ll make adjustments and it won’t look awful, I promise.”

“I feel fat,” Brainy laments tearfully. “And I don’t even know why I care!”

If Lyle laughs at his soon to be husband anymore, he’s pretty sure Brainy will retaliate maliciously, so he just kisses Brainy and reassures him that it’s normal to feel weird right now. “You know it’s okay, B. You’re the smartest guy in the universe, so you know that this is just how pregnancy is.”

“What if it messes up the way I think?” Brainy babbles hysterically. “I never worried about these things before, so why are they important now? I don’t want to be illogical, Lyle!”

He gets Brainy to calm down enough to take a nap, thankfully, and then finds Ayla and Violet out in the hall, eavesdropping.

“Okay, if he knew you two heard all that, he’d really have a breakdown,” Lyle warns them, glaring at them both. “Do not say a word, understood?”

The two girls nod but they’re still holding back snickers, and finally they both collapse against each other in helpless giggles.

“Illogical!” Ayla whoops. “I swear, only Brainy!”

And because it really is funny, Lyle can’t help joining in. It feels good to laugh with friends. He’s spent the last several months walking on eggshells around Brainy and he really needed a break.

\--

“Boy or girl?” Ayla asks at the breakfast table. “I mean, I know you don’t know for sure yet, but what do you think it will be?”

“Impossible to tell,” Querl replies dismissively. There’s no point in even bothering with speculation, in his opinion. They’ll know for sure soon enough.

“It’s a girl,” Ryn says, leaving no room for argument. “I want a sister.”

“But it could be a little brother,” Lyle reminds him gently. “You’ll be happy if it’s a boy, won’t you?”

“Sure,” Ryn agrees reluctantly. “But it’s a girl, okay?”

\--

Brainy refuses to wear his uniform for the wedding, prompting the entire wedding party to panic until Lyle’s mother actually saves the day by taking Brainy shopping. Initially, Brainy protested the shopping trip as violently as he’d protested wearing his uniform, but by the time they return with loose fitting purple clothes, he is much calmer.

“Your mother’s kind of nice,” Brainy admits to Lyle when they get a moment alone. “Shopping is awful, though. What’s the point?”

“I’m not a shopper either,” Lyle agrees, shrugging his shoulders. “It takes too long.”

He’d often gone shopping with the girls back when Legion had been young, but it had always been to indulge them, and to try and help Chameleon subtly flirt with Spark. It always consisted of Ayla and Tinya spending way too much time deciding between nearly identical shades of the same color and trying on pair after pair of shoes.

“I think it’s a female bonding ritual,” Brainy muses. “They discover the sorts of things their friends like, so as to purchase gifts for them later on that won’t be returned shortly after they are received. It’s also an opportunity to express dominance over other females, as they get to tell each other what clothes look nice on them and what don’t.”

Trust Brainy to analyze something like this. Lyle just smiles. “It’s also for showing off status. The women who can afford the nicest clothes are on the top of the food chain.”

“I hate trying on clothes,” Brainy grumbles. “Changing clothes in public is a terrible idea.”

But the outfit Lila helped Brainy pick out is surprisingly nice. He puts it on to show Lyle, and even manages to incorporate his uniform boots, although his trademark belt simply won’t fit around his middle, so a gold sash looped through a Legion belt buckle replaces it. The clothes are dark, silky purple and are baggy enough to cover up Brainy’s curves.

“You look fantastic,” Lyle purrs, looking his fiancé up and down with great appreciation. “Kind of regal, actually.”

This comment makes Brainy smirk in turn his nose up, of course. “I’m the next best thing to royalty on Colu.”

“You beat royalty on any planet by a long shot, Brainy,” Lyle replies, grinning. “Beauty _and_ brains. I don’t know about the brawn, though.”

“Neither of us ever particularly excelled in that department,” Brainy reminds him with arched eyebrows. “At least I was smart enough to invent my belt. You just ran away from everything.”

Lyle pouts a little. “So mean, B. I think we made a pretty good team.”

“We still do, don’t we?” Brainy grins devilishly at him as he starts to undress.

Knowing that Brainy isn’t planning on putting anything back on for a while, Lyle locks their bedroom door.

\--

Querl does not remember inviting quite so many people to the wedding. Of course, he left the task of inviting guests to Lyle, because he didn’t actually care who showed up and who didn’t. But Lyle double checked with him on most of the people he invited, or so Querl thought. Maybe Lyle just got tired of getting the same response of “I don’t care” every time he asked, and started inviting people without asking Querl about it.

For instance, Querl knows for damn sure that he never agreed to inviting Miss Sullivan, even if she is their “neighbor.” In fact, Lyle seems to have invited a lot of neighbors that he never even mentioned to Querl. It does make sense, Querl supposes, but he’d really hoped this would be a smaller, more private affair.

And surely Lyle knew better than to invite Andromeda. Surely he knows that if he’d asked Querl about Laurel Gand, Querl would have objected loudly.

Lila has walked Lyle to the altar, and now Lyle is standing there, waiting for Querl. Mr. Brande offers his arm to Querl, and then Querl sees _her_ just as he grasps Mr. Brande’s arm.

She looks lovely in a golden dress, her hair piled on top of her head. Not quite appropriate for a nun, Querl thinks to himself with a frown. To his complete and utter surprise, he notes that Rond Vidar, his former colleague from the Time Institute, is seated beside her.

He clearly remembers asking Lyle to invite Rond. Although he wouldn’t say that he and Rond were ever very close, he remembers that Rond always looked out for him and treated him as an equal. Rond always said that they had a lot in common; that he _liked_ working with Querl. That was the first time before the Legion that Querl ever felt truly appreciated.

Rond smiles at Querl and Laurel is beaming at him shyly. Then, Rond reaches to the next seat and picks up a little girl, who he perches on his legs to give her a better view. She looks just like Laurel, and she can’t be more than three or four years old.

The puzzle pieces connect, and Querl smiles wryly at the little family as he passes them. Well, who would have thought that those two would ever even meet? Querl wouldn’t wish Andromeda on his worst enemy, honestly, but he supposes she’s a good fit for his old friend. Rond is a relaxed, logical fellow, just the sort of person Laurel probably needed.

He feels a little vulnerable, standing in front of everyone like this. He and Lyle diligently watch the rest of the wedding party make their way down the aisle. Ayla, in a blue dress reminiscent of her uniform, takes her place at Querl’s side. Violet, self-elected flower girl, is dressed in a similar purple ensemble, and she scatters purple blossoms as she goes. Finally, Reep brings Ryn down the aisle and they both take their places behind Lyle.

Querl notes to himself that absolutely nothing in this wedding actually matches. Reep and Ryn are both dressed in suits, Lyle is dressed in his uniform, the girls in nice dresses, and Querl has this purple getup that Lila insists doesn’t look weird. Querl’s not sure he believes her. It’s all a bit chaotic. But then again, what in his life isn’t?

He and Lyle exchange vows. Then Lyle takes the rings from Ryn and they slip them on each others’ fingers. Querl’s heart is thumping too fast in his chest as Lyle leans in to kiss him.

The crowd cheers. Querl draws back, feeling embarrassed but proud at the same time. Lyle’s arm slips around his waist as they turn to address the crowd.

“And now… we party!” Lyle announces happily. “And there’s plenty of alcohol for everyone except Brainy.”

As he says this, he pats Querl’s middle. Querl cringes and he’s certain his whole face is dark green, but he hears a lot of “aw” noises from the crowd. Apparently everyone thinks the display is cute. He would roll his eyes, but Lyle has asked him to be nice and friendly to everyone.

People keep coming up after that to ask about the baby. They want to know how far along he is, or if he knows the baby’s gender, or if he has any names picked out. Ayla says something about a baby shower, which Querl promptly vetoes. Getting free things for the baby is nice, sure, but he’s pretty sure another party would be his undoing.

Just when he thinks he’s escaped everyone for a while, as he’s dipping out a drink from the punch bowl Laurel comes over with the little girl on her hip.

“Hey,” she greets nervously, her smile not quite meeting her eyes. “Brainy, I… I just wanted tell you how happy I am for you. Lyle’s a great guy.”

Querl nods stiffly to her, trying to avoid looking her in the eyes. “He makes me happy.”

“And you’re having a baby?” Laurel sounds shocked. “I mean, that’s great. I just never thought… it’s kind of hard to imagine you as a mom.”

“You too,” Querl replies, one hand moving to rest protectively on his belly. “She looks just like you.”

“Tell Brainy your name, sweetie,” Laurel urges, looking down at her daughter.

“Lauren,” the little girl replies very quietly before hiding her face against her mother’s chest.

“Nice name,” says Querl with a forced smile. “So, Rond Vidar… I used to work with him.”

Laurel smiles, this time much more genuinely. “I know, he told me. Trust me; that was kind of awkward for a while. But Rond and I just click really well. I’m sorry we didn’t invite you and Lyle to the wedding. It was just the two of us, no big party or anything. We didn’t want to get a lot of people involved.”

“Doesn’t bother me, I hate parties,” Querl replies, taking a sip of his punch. “How old is Lauren? About four? Lyle and I wouldn’t have been dating then, anyway. It’s a fairly recent thing.”

She gives him an odd look. “Really? Wow, I kind of thought he made a move as soon as I was out of the picture. It took you guys a lot longer to hook up than I imagined, then.”

This makes Querl frown in confusion. He can’t remember Lyle ever making any sort of “move” until years after Laurel had left the Legion. In fact, around the time Laurel is talking about would have been the thick of their rivalry. It was well before they ever even decided to make up and be friends.

“Oh, Brainy, you’re kind of oblivious, aren’t you?” Laurel laughs and reaches over to pat his arm. “He’s had eyes for you since day one.”

Then Rond shows up, wrapping his wife and daughter into a proud embrace. He politely brings Querl up to date on the Time Institute, and explains how he met Laurel at one of his panels on time anomalies. They seem very happy together. Querl wishes them the best and then sneaks off in search of his husband.

The party lasts quite a while, and Querl eventually just finds a table to sit at and stays there because his feet are aching. He has a good view of the dance floor that Garth and Rokk set up. Ryn has met Lauren and the two are twirling in random circles together, nearly getting under the feet of the other dancers who are trying to keep a close eye on them.

Garth and Imra are seated at a table with the twins, who’ve grown a sight even since the last time Querl saw them. They’re not quite a year old yet, but Garridan is already pulling himself up onto his feet and mastering more and more words. Graym is still quiet and calm, and still doesn’t speak out loud. Everyone loves the twins, and Ryn, and even Lauren. Ayla refers to them collectively as the “Legion babies.”

Querl supposes it’s a nice thought that these children might one day join the Legion in place of their parents. He still doesn’t like the thought of Ryn being in harm’s way like that and he hopes the boy grows out of the notion and becomes a scientist. And the baby is another matter entirely.

“Tired?” Lyle comes to sit beside him, regarding him worriedly. “Maybe it’s time for you and me to retire for the night, huh?”

“Mm.” Querl regards him wearily and nods his head. “I hate to drag Ryn away from the party, though…”

“Ayla can watch him,” Lyle says as he helps Querl to his feet. “I’ve already asked her. You look like you’re about to fall asleep.”

Leaning heavily against Lyle, Querl manages to make it all the way back to the house and up to the bedroom before exhaustion takes over. Lyle helps him out of his clothes and into his pajamas before letting Querl curl up under the covers like he wants to.

“I love you,” Lyle murmurs, pressing a kiss to Querl’s forehead. “You were great today.”

“Love you too,” Querl mumbles with a tiny smile. He’s already starting to drift off.

Lyle climbs into bed with him and wraps his arms around Querl snugly. Before he falls asleep, Querl thinks that this is the perfect ending to a crazy, stressful, wonderful day.

TBC


	12. Hallelujah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Very graphic rape in this chapter! Be forewarned before you read this chapter that there's violence, there's a lot of emotional distress, and there IS a rape scene. Things take a turn for the worse now, unfortunately.

**Chapter 12: Hallelujah**

 _Your faith was strong but you needed proof_

 _You saw her bathing on the roof_

 _Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you_

 _She tied you to a kitchen chair_

 _She broke your throne and she cut your hair_

 _And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah_

 **  
_-Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah”_   
**

This is the worst time ever for a business trip. Lyle tries his best to get out of it, but his company insists that they need him in New York. That means leaving Brainy on his own for four days, with Ryn to look after.

Brainy is in his fifth month, and very round. Next week they’re supposed to go in for an ultrasound to find out the baby’s sex. Of course Lyle doesn’t want to leave his husband alone like this, but what can he do? This job is important. It pays the few bills they have.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” he tells Brainy over and over again, even as he’s taking his suitcase out to the taxi that will drive him to the airport.

He leans forward to kiss Brainy, and their lips have met barely for a second when Brainy suddenly grabs his hand and presses it against the baby bump. Lyle feels a solid kick against his palm and he grins.

“The baby’s been very active lately,” he remarks. “Are you sure you can manage without me?”

“We’ll be fine,” Brainy says dismissively. “We have Brainiac 6 to take care of us, after all.”

Ryn is already on the lookout for bad guys from his bedroom window. Lyle can see him with his face pressed against the window pane, dressed in his Superman shirt and ready to take on the forces of evil.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he says again, and he kisses Brainy’s cheek. “Take care of yourself, make sure to take all of your pills and watch what you eat, okay?”

Lyle hates to leave. Life has been good since the wedding. Brainy’s hormones have finally relaxed, and a sort of serenity has overcome him. Even now, he’s glowing happily, one hand pressed against his belly. Lyle has to remind himself that Brainy and the baby will still be here when he gets back.

“I love you,” he says firmly. “All three of you.”

“We all love you too, dear,” Brainy replies patiently, obviously not as worried about this trip as Lyle is. “Have a safe trip.”

As the taxi pulls away, Lyle gets a sick feeling in his gut. He’s going to regret this.

\--

Lyle explained to Ryn before he left that it is Ryn’s job to make sure Querl takes care of himself. Ever since Uncle Garth finished building the greenhouse, Querl has spent more time out there and keeps forgetting about meals and naptime. Ryn has to remind him and make sure he doesn’t fall asleep out there, Lyle says.

The extra responsibility doesn’t bother Ryn. He likes having a job, and he also likes having an excuse to go out to the greenhouse, which is full of all kinds of interesting plants. Querl has starting “breeding” hybrid flowers that come in all sorts of cool colors and shapes.

After the first couple of days, though, Ryn gives up on the notion of keeping Querl on a regular schedule. Querl is too stubborn and the greenhouse is too much fun. The two of them end up mostly camping out there, and Querl even lets Ryn help with some of his experiments.

At mealtimes, they go in and fix sandwiches or cereal, or something similar. Every morning, Ryn reminds Querl to take his medication. Otherwise, they’re always in the greenhouse. Ryn wouldn’t mind if it was like this all of the time. Querl’s not as strict about doing schoolwork when Lyle’s not here. And he’s not as strict about naps, baths, or bedtime either.

The best thing, though, is that Querl is so much fun when they’re doing experiments. Every time Ryn comes up with something clever, Querl praises him and talks about how much alike they are. He says Ryn is going to be a brilliant scientist one day, and he’ll discover things that even Querl didn’t find. The idea of it makes Ryn’s heart race with excitement.

Querl sometimes gets very tired and has to sit down. The baby is using up a lot of his energy, he says. She kicks him all of the time from the inside, and it makes him very sore. But he always looks like he’s happy, even when he’s tired. Sometimes he reminds Ryn of Mother when she’s happy. He won’t tell Querl that, because he doesn’t think Querl would like it.

The morning of the fourth day since Lyle has been away dawns, and Ryn is up bright and early, but it takes Querl a little longer than usual to get out of bed. Ryn watches cartoons until Querl comes into the living room, still looking sleepy but content.

“Lyle will be home this evening,” Querl says and he sounds pleased. He has missed Lyle a lot, Ryn knows. Lyle once explained to Ryn that he and Querl were like best friends, and when they were away from each other they were two halves instead of one whole.

“Then we won’t get to play in the greenhouse as much anymore,” Ryn pouts, his face screwing up in a frown. “I’ll have to do schoolwork again.”

“Then we’ll have to make the best of today,” Querl says matter-of-factly.

As he prepares a simple breakfast for them, Querl rubs his belly absentmindedly. Ryn watches from the kitchen table with a little smile on his face. His baby sister has made herself well known in the last month, and Querl keeps getting rounder and rounder. Lately, Querl has seemed much more at ease with being pregnant.

Querl and Lyle have started talking about making the empty bedroom next to their room into a nursery. Ryn thinks they should decorate the room in purple and green, but Lyle says they have to wait until they know for sure that the baby is a girl. Next week they’re going to find out and Ryn can’t wait.

He’s determined to be the best big brother ever. He’ll make sure his little sister is always happy, and she can have any of his old toys that she wants; even Assistant Bear. They will be the very best of friends, and Ryn will teach his sister everything there is to know, because knowledge is the most powerful of weapons.

After they’ve had breakfast and Querl takes his medicine, they’re off for another day in the greenhouse. Today they’re going to try and design a perfect, organic fertilizer to help all of the plants grow even better. Querl says the key to science is making sure all of the parts are well tended to. If they want the plants to be good, they have to be good to the plants.

Querl tends to each plant first, making sure they all have what they need to properly grow. “You have to take care of living things,” he explains. “Never think of them as merely test subjects. They are conscious, and they do feel pain, in different ways than we do. If we, as scientists, lose sight of that, then we have failed the very universe that we are trying to help.”

Sometimes, when Querl says things like that, Ryn thinks that someone must have hurt him badly to make him worry so much about hurting others.

“When you were my age, where did you live?” Ryn asks, perched on one of the greenhouse workbenches, amongst the various plants. “Did you live with Mother?”

Caught off guard, Querl pauses in watering the plants and looks over at him. After a while, he shakes his head. “No, I didn’t live with Mother. She did not want me.”

“Why not?” Ryn asks, puzzled. “Didn’t she love you?”

The startled hurt in Querl’s eyes makes him regret asking the question, though he meant it innocently enough. Querl has to take a deep breath before he answers.

“As far as I know, Ryn, she never loved me.”

Ryn thinks that Querl must surely be wrong about that, because why wouldn’t Mother love him? She loves Ryn, and Querl says that he and Ryn are just alike. But at least Querl is answering his questions honestly, instead of avoiding them or making up gentler answers like Lyle would have done.

“Where did you live, then?” he asks.

“In an observation room,” Querl replies without emotion as he tends to a proudly blooming plant called a Begonia. “I was deprived of contact with other living beings until I was eight years old. After that, I was allowed to interact with the scientists who were observing my development. When I was eleven, there was an accident and a man was killed. I was blamed for it and they sent me away.”

Querl’s hand falls to rest against his belly protectively, like he thinks he is somehow harming the baby by talking about such things. “But that was when Mr. Brande found me,” he continues, forcing a smile. “He treated me like a son, and gave me everything I needed to succeed in life.”

“I like Mr. Brande,” Ryn says fondly, swinging his feet back and forth off the edge of the table. “He always has peppermint candy.”

“Yes, he’s recently developed an affinity for it,” Querl says, seeming very happy to switch the subject.

For awhile, they talk about happy things, or Querl explains his various experiments, or tells Ryn the long histories of some of his plants. He loves to talk when he thinks the person he’s talking to will really listen to him.

They’ve just begun the process of creating the perfect fertilizer when Querl pauses again, frowning.

“Do you hear that noise?” he asks Ryn.

At first, Ryn doesn’t. But then he does. It sounds like a cruiser landing, only bigger. And the sound keeps getting louder and louder until everything in the greenhouse starts shaking, and some of the plants fall off the benches, crashing to the floor.

Querl dashes to the greenhouse door and throws it open. He backs up immediately, and Ryn cranes his neck to look past his brother.

A huge black ship is slowly settling down in the field behind their house. The noise is almost deafening now. Querl looks panicked.

“Ryn, stay behind me,” he says sternly, keeping himself between the ship and Ryn. Ryn has a sudden and terrible fear that Querl and the baby are in danger.

Then the noise stops. The ship has settled down completely. A door opens and Ryn jumps down from the bench to get a closer look when he sees a figure stepping out.

All of a sudden, he recognizes the figure and his worries are eased. He forgets Querl’s warning and takes off at a run towards the familiar woman.

“Ryn, no!” he hears Querl shout.

But he’s already throwing himself into the woman’s arms. “Mother!”

\--

Blood is thundering in Querl’s ears. She’s here. Somehow, Brainiac 4 is here in his backyard. How did she get out of Takron Galtos? Why has she come here? But he knows why she’s come here. She’s here for Ryn; for her salvation.

Ryn runs past him toward her, ignoring when Querl calls after him. Even after living with Lyle and Querl for so long, even though Mother hurt him, Ryn still loves her more than anything. He throws himself right into the line of fire, right into her arms.

And Brainiac 4 gathers her son to her chest, kissing the top of his head lovingly. She keeps walking towards Querl, and three men step out of the ship behind her. They’re obviously not fine, upstanding citizens. Querl recognizes a tattoo on one man’s forearm as a gang symbol from Ultra Boy’s home planet, Rimbor.

“Hello, Querl,” Brainiac 4 greets calmly when she reaches the greenhouse. She laughs when Querl stumbles backwards away from her. “My, my, you’re certainly not as brave when I’m not handcuffed and incapacitated.”

It’s true; Querl is terrified of this woman. He wants to get himself and his children as far away from her as possible, but he’s cornered in the greenhouse and Ryn is held in the woman’s arms.

“What are you doing here?” he demands, trying in vain to keep his voice from shaking.

“Just a quick stop on my way out of this solar system,” she replies flippantly. “You have done an admirable job of tending to my Ryn Nann while I could not, but that will no longer be necessary.”

Anger surges through Querl and he stands up a little straighter. “You’re not taking him anywhere!”

Ryn’s eyes grow wide. “I don’t want to leave, Mother! Querl and Lyle are my family! And Querl’s going to have a baby soon! You can’t take me away, you can’t!”

Brainiac 4 ignores her son’s pleas and instead turns her gaze to Querl’s swollen middle, a look of amusement spreading across her face. “A baby? How interesting. I can see that you are indeed with child, my boy. How long?”

The look in her eyes makes Querl very uneasy. “About five months,” he admits reluctantly, unsure of why she wants to know.

Her face falls and she sighs. “Well, that’s a shame. Seven months or older would have been better. The babe would not survive if we took it from you now.”

“What?” Querl’s legs feel like jelly and he has to grasp hold of a workbench to keep himself upright. “You wouldn’t…”

But of course she would. She wants Querl’s child, almost as much as she wants Ryn. She wouldn’t think twice about cutting the baby out of him and leaving him to slowly bleed to death. Querl feels sick at the realization. He only barely missed that fate.

“For now, you may keep my grandchild,” Brainiac 4 decides, as though she has the right to say such a thing. “I’ll have to wait until the child would no longer be at risk. This keeps you a little safer than you would have otherwise been, boy. If there’s a child to worry about, I’ll have to be careful with you.”

Querl reaches behind him and slowly grasps the spray bottle of pesticide he keeps there. “You’re not taking my baby, and you’re not taking Ryn. Leave us alone, if you know what’s good for you.”

She snorts in amusement and strides towards him as though he poses no threat to her. And Querl lets her think that until she gets right up in his face, taller than him and using that height to try and intimidate him.

“You think you can stop me, brat? Go ahead and try.”

“Okay, if you say so.” Querl pulls the bottle of pesticide from behind him and aims it at her face, squirting the chemicals directly into her eyes.

Brainiac 4 shrieks and drops Ryn, rubbing her eyes in pain. Ryn scrambles underneath the opposite bench.

“You little bitch!” his mother snarls, clawing at her eyes. “You will pay for that! Men, restrain him!”

Two of her Rimbor ruffians stride forward and grab Querl. One wrenches the spray bottle away from him and tosses it aside. Brainiac 4 slowly regains the ability to open her eyes, though when she does, they’re bloodshot and teary.

She promptly strikes Querl across the face hard enough to make his head snap to the side.

“That is no way to treat your _mother_!” she screams at him before striking him again. The blows hurt, but it’s a pain that Querl can ignore. It’s his child resting just below those strikes that makes him feel vulnerable.

“Don’t hurt the baby!” Ryn begs from beneath the bench. Tears are rolling down his face and he is breathing too hard. “Mother, don’t hurt my little sister, please!”

“Hush, Ryn!” the woman demands and Ryn immediately falls silent. She nods to the third man. “Fetch my son from under there. And you other two, take this one into the house and we’ll decide how best to punish him.”

Querl struggles as best he can in their hold, but the ruffians are stronger than he is, even if he wasn’t pregnant and was in proper shape. They force him towards the house while the third one easily drags Ryn out of his hiding place.

“Let go of me!” he spits as he fights them every step of the way. “You have no right to do this! Mother, you have no right to be here! This is our home!”

“Be grateful that you’re pregnant, you imbecile, or I would take great pleasure in killing you slowly,” Brainiac 4 snaps back at him. “You may be a complete disappointment to me, but there’s no sense in wasting my grandchild before she has the chance to make herself useful.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” Querl demands. “If you try to take me with you, I promise you that I will find a way to kill you. If you leave me here, I’ll track you down until I find you again.”

Once again, his mother looks amused. “I have no doubt you would manage it, Querl. Therefore, we’ll have to do enough damage to keep you quiet for a while, won’t we?”

He is forced into the house and upstairs to his and Lyle’s bedroom. Brainiac 4 looks to the man holding Ryn and motions him away with her hand.

“Take Ryn to another room, there’s no need for him to see this,” she says calmly.

Ryn sobs and yells for Querl as the man carries him off. Their mother stands passively in the bedroom doorway, unmoved.

“Violate him,” she tells the men holding Querl. “Make sure it hurts, but do not harm the child.”

As the men start to force Querl down on the bed, he renews his struggles. “Sprock, you can’t do this! I’ll never forgive you! Mother, I will kill you!”

“No you won’t, you simpering little idiot,” Brainiac 4 sneers down at him. “You’re soft. You’ve let yourself be drawn into this pointless little _home life_ , you’ve been _domesticated_. No true son of mine would have let himself be humbled like this. You’ve shackled yourself to an inferior species, and you’ve let him _impregnate_ you. Your stupidity is truly astounding.”

She stands confident, powerful; in control. And although she sounds more emotional than the last time he spoke to her, she is still cold and untouchable. It means nothing to her to stand and watch as her pregnant son is raped. He wonders why, then, she tries so hard to feel.

“This is to teach you a lesson, boy,” she says. “You will never outsmart me, so you should stop trying. The last time you caught me was a mistake on my part, and it won’t happen again. I want you to know how badly I can hurt you. And if you do not learn your lesson, I will hurt you again and again. I will come back, and I will hurt you until you beg me to end your life.”

He can still hear Ryn screaming for him from the other room. His pants are being yanked off. There’s nothing he can do to stop it but he kicks furiously at the men, trying to knock them off of him.

Brainiac 4 suddenly draws a gun from her cloak and levels it with his belly. “If you do not stop fighting, Querl, I will kill the baby now. I will make sure the wound takes hours to bleed out and you will die slowly, knowing that the death of your child was your own fault.”

Something in Querl snaps and crumbles into useless pieces. His protests die in his throat and his body goes lax on the bed. If there is a chance that his baby will survive this attack, that is what he has to place his hope in.

“Please,” he chokes as his legs are forced apart. “Mother, you don’t have to do this. The baby, it could hurt the baby, please.”

The thought of someone forcing themselves on him, of another man violating him like this makes Querl wish he was like Lyle and could simply disappear. Instead, he closes his eyes. What he can’t see can’t hurt him. Nothing can hurt him unless he lets it hurt him.

Lyle will be home soon, Lyle will find him, and Lyle will make everything okay.

His legs are splayed across one man’s lap while the other man keeps him held down. It’s hardly necessary when that gun is pointed at the baby.

“Please,” he tries one last time.

And then he cries out as the man on the bed starts to force his way into Querl’s body. His eyes roll back into his head. No lube, no lotion, not even spit. This man is trying to tear Querl apart. Querl is certain that the man won’t fit, that his body is going to split before the man’s entire length is inside.

He writhes against the bed and tries his best to keep from making any noises. Ryn cannot possibly understand what is happening, and he’s at least being sheltered a little from this. If he hears Querl scream and cry like Querl wants to, Ryn will be even more distressed.

“Like that, slut?” the man asks mockingly. He somehow buries himself in Querl’s body. Querl’s thighs are trembling against him, his shaking and jerking with the need to push away the source of pain. He can’t even try, he has to keep the baby safe.

Lyle would have taken his time. He would have kissed Querl and run his hands all over Querl’s body. He would have made Querl feel beautiful, and then he would have eased Querl open before finally pushing into him. It would have felt like a connection. It would have been beautiful. His body would not have physically rejected Lyle with such ferocity.

The man begins to thrust, with no real rhythm to his movements. He pulls out, only to slam back in again, over and over.

Querl tries so hard not to scream, but the man rips it out of him anyway. A heavy hand covers his face and pushes it against the mattress, and Querl has difficulty breathing through it. His body is rocked back and forth, and he hopes beyond all hope that the baby will be alright.

It seems to take forever, and he is a quivering, sobbing mess by the time the man finishes. He tries not to think of the man’s semen inside him now, tries not to think of all the diseases the man could be carrying, because if he thinks about it, it will only make it worse.

At least it’s over, he thinks. But then the second man is moving into place and pushing into his body with no more preparation than the first. Blood and cum make the passage easier, but Querl still screams again. This man strikes him hard across the face, again and again.

“Shut up and take it, bitch!” he snarls at Querl. “You whine worse than my ex-wife. This is what little bitches like you are for, you hear me? Did you think you actually wanted to be a little housewife? This is what you deserve. Your little boy toy won’t want to touch you after this. He’ll be disgusted with you.”

It’s all ridiculous, but it’s hard to think about how ridiculous it is when he’s being sprocked into the mattress against his will. He wouldn’t blame Lyle for not wanting him after this. Right now, he’d like nothing better than to claw his own skin off just to get rid of any trace of these disgusting, horrible men.

“This is what you get for being weak,” his mother tells him calmly. “That human boy is nothing. He’ll keep you locked up here, raising his children for him and cleaning his house, when you know that you are so much more than that. If you are truly a Brainiac, you will get this foolish notion of living happily ever after out of your head.”

“L-Lyle loves m-me,” Querl stutters. “He loves me, you bitch, he’ll make sure you pay for this.”

“He loves you so much that he brought you here, away from your labs and your work, and he put his seed in your belly.” Brainiac 4 turns her nose up. “He is using you, foolish child.”

He doesn’t want to hear any more hateful words, he just wants Lyle to come home and fix this. His body aches and his heart is breaking, because he knows that his mother ruining everything right now. She’s taking Ryn away, and Lyle won’t want him anymore, and the baby could be hurt. Even if the baby’s not hurt, she’ll come back for it and take it away too. Querl won’t have anything left.

Lyle loves him. Lyle will fix this. Querl just has to survive until then, and it will be alright.

When the second man finally pulls away, Querl curls in on himself, shaking and sobbing. He presses his hands against his belly, as though that can somehow protect the child from it all.

“If you try to follow us, I will catch you,” his mother warns. “And I will hurt you again. Do you want that to happen? Do you want to be raped again? Answer me, Querl!”

“No,” Querl manages to choke out, shaking his head. “I don’t…”

His mother smirks down at him and nods. “I think you’ve learned, then. I will be back for my grandchild as well. You will give her to me or this will all happen again, and I will take her anyway.”

Querl shudders, still shaking his head. “Please, Mother…”

“Querl!” he suddenly hears Ryn shriek. The boy has somehow managed to escape the man who was watching him, and he runs to Querl’s side. He looks horrified and confused, prompting Querl to grab a blanket to cover himself with. “Querl, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! They hurt you!”

More than anything, Querl wants to just give up, and cry and scream and beg for his husband. He can’t do that in front of Ryn. He has to be strong.

“Ryn, it’s… it’s okay,” he mumbles, reaching out to him. “It’s not your fault.”

“I could hear you screaming, but the man wouldn’t let me go,” Ryn says, grasping his hand. “I’m sorry, I’ll fix it. I should have listened to you, I’m sorry. Is the baby okay? Did they hurt her?”

Brainiac 4 reaches for Ryn, but he jerks away from her, and angrily shouts, “Don’t touch me, I hate you!”

The look that flashes across their mother’s face terrifies Querl. He squeezes Ryn’s hand tightly and shakes his head. “Ryn, no, don’t say that. The baby’s fine, okay? But you have to go with your mother. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, Ryn, this is the best I can do.”

“I don’t want to go with her!” Ryn objects. “I have to stay with you! Someone’s got to take care of you, Lyle said it was my job!”

Querl hurts so much. He doesn’t know what to do.

The matter is taken out of his hands. Brainiac 4 scoops Ryn up and throws one last, scathing look in Querl’s direction as she and her men leave the room. Ryn is still screaming and crying, begging her not to take him away. Querl can’t move.

Soon, Lyle will come home. And then Lyle will help him. Of course he will.

“Lyle loves me,” he whispers to himself. “He does, he loves me. He says it all the time.”

The only person who has ever made Querl feel loved is Lyle. Querl hangs onto that feeling as he lies there, bloody and bruised. Lyle will fix things, because Lyle thinks Querl is beautiful. Lyle sees things through different eyes.

He can’t help thinking that if he hadn’t been pregnant maybe he would have had a chance of fighting back. Maybe he could have moved faster or struggled harder. He wouldn’t have been forced to submit to those men for fear of losing his baby.

But he survived. Mother took Ryn, but Querl survived, and Lyle will come home and figure out how to get Ryn back.

Querl survived. He hopes that’s enough.

TBC


	13. Sundrenched

**Chapter 13: Sundrenched**

 _I close up my mouth when you’re around now_

 _Suffocating in doubt, I can’t make a sound_

 _In your sundrenched world, I always wanted to be_

 _The one you looked to for the answers in me_

 _I’m the one who took you to your sundrenched world_

 **  
_-Joshua Radin, “Sundrenched World”_   
**

Today in Smallville, a spaceship landed. That’s not weird in some places, really. For instance, in Metropolis there’s a ship dock for interplanetary travel and it’s often quite busy. However, Smallville is another matter entirely. Not much goes on in Smallville, and if something _does_ happen, Chloe Sullivan makes sure she knows everything about it.

Even more interesting is that the ship landed near the old Kent farm, and then left shortly afterward. Chloe reasons that this could be nothing; Lyle and Querl are former Legionnaires, after all, and perhaps it was someone they knew. But then again, it can’t hurt to drive out and see. She won’t make a nuisance of herself, she’ll just knock on the door and ask if Lyle’s home. Then she’ll make small talk to Lyle and mention somewhere in there that someone saw a spaceship. If it’s no big deal, Lyle will probably tell her what it was. If he won’t tell her about it, Chloe will know there’s something more to uncover.

So she drives out to the farm. It’s a picturesque place, though it’s a little grown up in spots since there’s no one working the land. But then, it’s amazing that the land is still all together like this in the first place. There’s probably a story right there – figuring out who was responsible for preserving it all these years. Maybe Clark Kent himself is behind it.

She’s been told that some twenty years ago, the farmhouse was falling apart, but then it was bought and restored. Now it looks just like a farmhouse, nothing newfangled about it. It’s painted white, with a big front porch, and a well groomed yard. The only thing missing is a friendly dog, she thinks.

But then, as she gets out of her cruiser, she thinks that something doesn’t seem quite right. The front door is ajar. Querl is the paranoid type, and Chloe is pretty sure he wouldn’t be happy with just leaving it open like that.

She still knocks on it as she steps through the doorway. “Hello? Lyle?” When there’s no response, she calls, “Mr. Dox?”

Worried, she moves through the living room. The side table next to the couch has been knocked over, and the lamp that was on it is broken. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be much out of place. But Chloe feels like there’s something wrong here, so she turns up the stairs, once more calling out. “Lyle, its Chloe Sullivan! Are you home?”

A noise reaches her ears as she gets to the top of the stairs. She pauses, listening carefully, and hears it again. This time it’s unmistakable. It was definitely someone saying “help.”

She takes the next couple of stairs in one stride. Another few steps and she finds a bedroom, the door wide open. “Hello?”

The sight that greets her when she peers inside makes her shriek and jump back. She takes a deep breath and calms herself, hesitantly stepping into the room. “Oh, Grife. Are you okay?”

Querl Dox lies prone on the bed, his face a bruised, bloody mess. His breathing is hindered by an injured nose, and his lips are moving but it’s hard to make out what he’s trying to say.

“Hold on, I’ll call 911,” Chloe tells him as she frantically digs her communicator out of her pocket. She dials the number, watching the beaten man nervously. “It’s going to be okay, alright? It’ll be okay.”

“Ryn…” Querl croaks out, looking as though it pains him to speak. “She… took Ryn.”

Chloe thinks about the funny, bright little boy that told her she was pretty, and her heart skips a beat. Whoever did this to Querl has Ryn. Who knows what they’ll do to a kid?

 _“911, what is your emergency?”_

“My neighbor was attacked,” Chloe replies quickly. She rattles off the address, and her hands are shaking so bad that she almost drops her phone but she manages to hold on to it. “He’s in bad shape, someone needs to get out here ASAP.”

 _“An ambulance is on its way, ma’am. Don’t try to move him.”_

She snaps her communicator shut and moves closer to Querl, trying to get an idea of how hurt he is. “Mr. Dox, can you tell me what happened?”

“My mother…” Querl mumbles. His lip is busted and it looks like it hurts him every time he opens his mouth. “She took Ryn.”

“What about your husband?” Chloe asks. “Where’s Lyle?”

“Business trip,” he says. “Need to… supposed to come home…”

“Okay, I’ll call him.” Chloe opens her communicator again, dialing Lyle’s number. She hesitantly reaches over and touches Querl’s hand. “It’s gonna’ be okay, I promise.”

 _“Hello?”_

“Lyle? This is Chloe Sullivan. Please don’t freak out, but you need to get home as soon as possible. Querl was attacked, and Ryn’s gone.”

 _“What?!”_

Chloe takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Querl’s in bad shape. I called an ambulance. He said something about his mom taking Ryn. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. Meet us at the hospital, okay?”

“Thank you,” Querl says weakly, his fingers curling around her hand.

“Of course,” Chloe replies, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s no problem.”

\--

Lyle bursts into the hospital lobby, breathing hard. He couldn’t catch a cab to get to the hospital, so he just ran here. His business suit is soaked with sweat and his hair is plastered to his head, but he doesn’t even notice.

He sees Chloe Sullivan jump from her seat to meet him. She is pale and has obviously been crying. “Thank Grife you’re here. They won’t tell me anything, I’m not family.”

“Thank you so much, Miss Sullivan,” Lyle says, clasping her hand in his own. “You don’t know how much it means to me that you got him to a hospital.”

Chloe nods solemnly and wipes at her eyes. “Of course, it was nothing. I just hope he’s okay.”

The lady at the desk gives him a sympathetic look when he tells her who he’s looking for. “Are you his family?” she asks.

“I’m his husband,” Lyle replies, nodding. “Lyle Norg. Can I please see him?”

“He’s stable now, so I think you can go back,” she tells him. “Just let me check with the doctor, he may want to explain the situation to you first.”

So Lyle waits for the doctor, an aging man with a kind smile who takes him aside and talks about Brainy’s condition quietly. “Luckily, the baby seems to be alright. We did an ultrasound to make sure everything is in order, and she’s fine.”

“A little girl?” Lyle whispers, his voice trembling. “It’s a girl?”

“I suppose this is the wrong time for it, but congratulations,” the doctor replies, nodding. “Unfortunately, your husband was not as lucky as the baby. He doesn’t have any broken bones, but he was struck in the face repeatedly and sustained a concussion. And I know this is going to be hard to hear, but I’m afraid I have to tell you that he was sexually assaulted as well.”

“What?” Lyle feels like crying. “Are you telling me he was raped?”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Norg. We examined him for sexual trauma; he was sodomized, probably more than once. We were able to collect some evidence – semen samples, some hair samples as well. There’s a chance the people who did this can be caught.”

Lyle nods, not really sure he can believe what he’s being told. It doesn’t feel real.

But when he enters Brainy’s hospital room, he knows it’s true. Brainy’s face is a mess, bruised and swollen, and Lyle can see bruises on his wrists and arms, probably from being held down. Luckily, Brainy is asleep. They probably sedated him, as Lyle doubts Brainy would have been able to handle the rape examination.

He slowly pulls his communicator out and punches in a number meant only for emergencies. This is definitely an emergency.

 _“Legion of Super-Heroes, this is Cosmic Boy.”_

“Cos,” Lyle breathes in relief. “I need your help.”

He tells Rokk what he knows, which admittedly isn’t very much. The more he talks about it, the more distressed he becomes. Rokk tries to calm him down.

 _“Lyle, we’re going to find them and get Ryn back. I’m sending a team out right now, and we won’t stop until we find them. You just have to stay calm.”_

“Those _rapists_ have my _son_ ,” Lyle snaps at him. “How can you expect me to stay calm?”

 _“I promise you that we’ll find him. Just take care of Brainy, he needs you.”_

When Lyle hangs up, he realizes he’s crying. This is just his worst nightmare. Brainy is hurt and Ryn is gone, and Lyle has no idea how to fix it. There’s nothing he can do but sit here at Brainy’s side and wait for him to wake up.

Eventually, Brainy does begin to stir. He moans as he comes to, only able to open one eye fully.

“Lyle?” he mumbles, voice cracking. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here, B,” Lyle replies, gripping Brainy’s hand firmly. “How are you doing?”

“The baby?” Querl asks anxiously. “Is the baby okay?”

“Yeah, sweetie, the baby’s okay,” Lyle says, nearly choking on tears. “The doctor did an ultrasound to make sure. He says it’s a girl.”

This was supposed to be a happy event. They were going to go as a family for Brainy’s ultrasound to find out if the baby was really a girl like Ryn insisted that it was. And now Ryn’s not even here to share the news with them and Brainy… Brainy might not ever be the same.

“A girl.” Brainy manages a tiny smile, but it falls away quickly. “Ryn’s gone. Lyle, my mother…”

“I know. I called Rokk, the Legion is on it.” Lyle tries to smile back. “We’re going to find him and bring him back, and we’ll put your mom back where she belongs, I swear it. If I had known she escaped, I would never have left you alone, babe.”

Brainy shakes his head. “Not your fault. It’s my fault.”

“Don’t think that,” Lyle objects. “Don’t blame yourself for this. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Even though Brainy’s injuries aren’t as bad as when he was attacked in Metropolis, he looks worse than he did then. Maybe it’s because there’s a spark missing from his eyes. There’s something gone from Brainy’s face, replaced with a defeated silence.

“Love you,” Brainy whispers, barely audible.

“I know,” Lyle replies tearfully. “I love you too, B. Always.”

\--

The doctor and the nurses talk about the recovery process. When Querl is awake, they explain everything to him patiently, as though he is a small child who won’t understand. They warn him before they touch him, and they apologize for every little thing that might upset him.

He’d tell them that the needles are nothing, and it doesn’t matter who sees his body now, but he can’t muster up the energy. It seems to take so much strength to speak now that he hardly does it unless he has to. And he knows they’re worried about that. Truth be told, it bothers him too. But what can he do about it?

At least the baby is alright, but Ryn is gone. Querl is consumed with guilt. He cannot fathom life without his little brother now, and it hurts to even think about going home without him. Lyle promises that they will find Ryn, but Querl is not so confident.

Lyle is with him all the time, like he thinks he can somehow ease Querl’s pain just by being there. But even if Lyle can’t take away the pain, he does at least make Querl feel safer. It’s an illogical feeling – he knows that Lyle would fight to the death for him, but Lyle is no better at hands on combat than Querl himself is. It’s just that every time Lyle leaves his sight, Querl can’t help feeling that his mother will come for him again.

“The doctor says we should start thinking of names for the baby,” Lyle murmurs to him, trying to engage him in conversation. “She can’t be born without a name, right? In a few months, we’ll have our little girl. We’ll be able to hold her, kiss her…”

He carefully brushes Querl’s hair back out of his face as he speaks. Querl wants to push him away – touch makes his skin crawl – but that would hurt Lyle too much.

“I haven’t thought of any names,” he replies dully. “Have you?”

“I was going to ask you about one, if it had been a boy,” Lyle admits. “When I was a kid, I had a good friend named Jacques. I thought it would be nice to name my kid after him. Or, I thought maybe we could change it to Jack. Simple, you know?”

Querl manages a smile. “Jack would have been good. Not for a girl, though.”

“No, I know,” Lyle agrees. “So I was thinking about it the other day. You know how you told me Ryn’s name means salvation? I thought maybe… Maybe Grace would be a good name for a little girl.”

“Grace?” Querl repeats the name, trying it out. “You’d call her Gracie.”

Lyle nods and laughs softly. “Of course. What do you think?”

He likes that name. It has a nice sound to it. It’s a normal Earth name, simple and elegant.

“Suits her,” he says out loud, nodding. “Your mother will be disappointed, though.”

“I hate the “L” name tradition,” Lyle says, making a face. “Don’t you think it’s kind of tacky?”

“Yes,” Querl replies. “I was afraid you’d want to name her Lulu or something.”

It’s a brief respite from the suffocating fear and depression that has settled over him in the aftermath of the rapes. Lyle hasn’t asked him to talk about it at all yet, but Querl knows that’s coming. Sci-Pol will want him to give a statement, as well.

For now, Lyle doesn’t push him. He strokes Querl’s cheek, and cautiously leans in to kiss him chastely. Kissing doesn’t matter, Querl wants to say. They didn’t kiss him. No, they just sprocked him. Tears sting Querl’s eyes as he fights to keep them held back.

“I’m not a housewife,” he mumbles bitterly. “You know that, right?”

“What are you talking about?” Lyle asks with a frown. “Who called you a housewife?”

Querl sighs, because he’s opened up a can of worms and now he’ll have to explain. “Just… One of them said it while they were…”

The way Lyle flinches, like he’s been slapped in the face, makes Querl regret saying anything. He turns his head to the side and closes his eyes.

“Forget I mentioned it.”

“No, if you want to talk, that’s what you need to do,” Lyle replies quickly. “I’m sorry. You just surprised me. Tell me about it.”

“You don’t want to hear it,” Querl replies, because it’s horrible to even think about. It’s not the sort of thing you want to share. “They just… Mother was trying to hurt me. She said I was soft… pathetic… because I _shackled_ myself to you. And she said you would keep me locked away, make me raise the children… I know you wouldn’t.”

Lyle pets him hair lovingly. “I’d never keep you if you didn’t want to stay, B.”

“I want to stay,” Querl reassures him quickly. He looks back over at Lyle. “I wouldn’t have married you if I didn’t want to. She just… she doesn’t know you can have both; your dreams and your family. She’s never been willing to compromise.”

This coaxes a smile from his husband. “You’re a beautiful person, Querl.”

“Not really,” Querl replies, though the words try to stick in his throat. “I’m never as good as I could be.”

“I don’t care,” Lyle swears, shaking his head. “Maybe that’s true, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve come so far, and learned so much. I’m proud of you.”

A hiccupping sob escapes Querl, because he’s held the tears back too long and the dam is bursting. “You say that, but I’ve never felt like I was doing things right. I’m selfish and arrogant and… and I’ve been so horrible to you and everyone. I’m afraid… I’m afraid I’ll end up like her, Lyle.”

“You won’t.” Lyle grasps his hand and squeezes it tight. “I won’t let you end up like that, I swear. I’ll be here by your side, keeping you on the right path. It’s going to be okay.”

He gives in and cries, gripping Lyle’s hand like a lifeline. Lying in his bedroom too hurt to move, he’d thought there was no coming back. It had felt like the bottom, with no way to climb back up. But Lyle somehow pulls him back towards the sunshine.

\--

It’s been a while since the full force of the Legion was brought down on someone so vehemently. It took less than 24 hours to fully mobilize everyone, and another two days to bring Brainiac 4 in, but they managed it. Rokk tries to remind himself that they’ve ensured Brainy’s safety by doing so, but he knows that in some ways, it’s already too late.

Garth left Imra and the twins on Winath to help aid the search, and Rokk knows that must have terrified him. But Rokk is so grateful, because Garth is the only one who can coax little Ryn Dox out of his hiding place. Ryn trusts his Uncle Garth.

“He needs medical attention,” Rokk reminds Garth. The Winathian has allowed Ryn to fall asleep on his shoulder and has been sitting with the boy like this for an hour or more. “The sooner we get him checked out, the sooner we can get him home.”

“Yeah,” Garth agrees, but his hold on Ryn tightens a little. “When you called me, Cos… It was like they’d taken one of my own boys. Ryn, he’s… he’s family now.”

They are all brothers and sisters, the Legionnaires, but Rokk knows that Garth and Imra have been in close contact with Lyle and Brainy these days. Garth obviously takes his role as Ryn’s uncle very seriously, and Rokk can’t blame him.

“At least we got him back,” Rokk murmurs.

“That awful woman should be dead,” Garth growls, uncharacteristically vicious. “Anyone who could beat a little boy like this… He’s covered in bruises. And Brainy… It all just makes me sick. And I think, ‘what if someone had done that to my wife and my kids?’ I’d lose it.”

Rokk swallows hard. He imagines how he’d feel if Jazmin was attacked. He’d probably lose it too, and he doesn’t even have any kids to worry about yet.

“I’ll make sure she never escapes again,” he swears. “I’ll do everything I can, Garth. But right now, we need to get Ryn back to his family as soon as possible.”

\--

Lyle paces the floor anxiously. He finally has Brainy home and settled into bed in the guestroom. Rokk called in a few hours earlier with the best news that Lyle could have hoped for; they’d apprehended Brainiac 4 and recovered Ryn. They would be on their way to Earth as soon as Ryn had received medical care.

He’d asked Rokk what kind of shape Ryn was in. Rokk had said only that Ryn had taken a beating and would only respond to Garth. Lyle is worried, but hopeful. At least Ryn is alive, and Rokk doesn’t think he has any serious injuries.

A knock on the door sends him scurrying to open it. He barely registers Garth and Rokk before he’s grabbing Ryn from Garth’s arms and hugging him tight. “Ryn, baby, I’m so sorry!”

Ryn’s arms wrap around his neck in return. The little boy begins to cry pitifully. “Lyle! I was so scared!”

“It’s okay now,” Lyle assures him soothingly. “Please don’t cry. Everything is alright.”

He stands back and beckons his former teammates inside, gently bouncing Ryn in his arms to calm him.

“How is Brainy?” Garth asks quietly, his expression tight. He looks like he hasn’t slept in several days. Lyle can sympathize with that. “Did you bring him home?”

“This morning,” Lyle replies, nodding. “He’s in the guestroom, sleeping. He didn’t say anything about it but I thought the guestroom would be… better than the master bedroom.”

“That’s where the neighbor found him?” Rokk asks. “Grife…”

Lyle kisses the top of Ryn’s head. “Hey, baby, are you sleepy? Can you lay down with your brother for a while and take a nap?”

“Yeah,” Ryn mumbles. “Is the baby okay?”

“Your little sister is just fine,” Lyle reassures the boy. He glances at Rokk and Garth and smiles thinly at them. “Can you guys wait out here for a few minutes? Let me get Ryn settled down and we’ll talk.”

“It’s a girl?” Ryn asks, his tears starting to dry.

“A healthy baby girl,” says Lyle, a little brighter. “What do you think of calling her Grace?”

“Can I call her Gracie?” Ryn asks.

Lyle laughs a little and nods. “Of course you can, baby.”

When he opens the door to the guestroom, Brainy stirs. He’s slept a lot in the past three days, which worries Lyle, but maybe he’s just too mentally exhausted. Lyle has been telling himself not to worry too much just yet.

“Hey, look who I have,” Lyle greets when Brainy opens his eyes. “Rokk and Garth brought him home.”

Wordlessly, Brainy reaches out. Lyle settles Ryn into Brainy’s arms, and the two Coluans curl around each other. Brainy kisses the top of Ryn’s head and sniffs loudly. “I’m so sorry, Ryn.”

“I missed you,” Ryn whispers, clinging to Brainy’s shirt. “I should have listened to you.”

“It’s okay,” Brainy says. “It’s over now.”

But it’s not over; not really. Lyle knows that they’re both far from healed, and the healing process is going to take a long time. At least he has them both home now, and they can start to recover.

He leaves them, quietly closing the door to the room, and goes back to the living room where Garth and Rokk are waiting.

“She’s behind bars?” he asks first thing.

“She’s as locked up as a person can be,” Rokk assures him. “I’ll be personally making sure she is treated as a top threat and never given the opportunity to escape again.”

Some of the tension leaves Lyle’s body as he sighs in relief. “Thank you both so much. I… I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you caught her, that you found Ryn, I…”

“No thanks necessary, Lyle.” Garth shakes his head firmly. “You’re family. I know you’d do the same for me.”

Lyle can only nod, because his throat feels tight and he’s cried too much already. Garth seems to take this as a cue to embrace him, hugging him close for a moment before letting him go again.

“Do you need any help?” Rokk asks. “Do you need someone to stay with you guys until Brainy’s back on his feet?”

“No, it’s alright,” Lyle says, forcing a smile. “The neighbor who found him, Chloe – she’s offered to help me with Ryn until Brainy can manage. She gets along with Ryn, and she wants to help, so I told her it was fine.”

Brainy won’t like it, probably, but Lyle thinks Chloe deserves a chance to be their friend. If she hadn’t found Brainy who knows how long he would have lain there helpless?

“If you need _anything_ , Imra and I are just a call away,” Garth tells him. “Imra wants to come and check on Brainy at some point – to see if he’ll open up to her, you know. Just let me know when a good time is. We don’t want to intrude, but we’re worried about him.”

If only Brainy truly understood how many friends he has, Lyle thinks. He understands Garth’s fears; Brainy internalizes these things and doesn’t deal with them on his own. Maybe Imra can help him with that.

“I’ll call you,” he promises his friend. “I’m… I’m going to call Dr. Ryk’rr as well. He won’t like it but I think he definitely has to talk to someone about this.”

“Keep an eye on Ryn too,” Rokk warns. “Dr. Gym’ll said he’s mostly okay, but he’ll be sore for a few days, and… well, he’s a kid. He’s not equipped to deal with trauma like we are.”

Lyle laughs bitterly and shakes his head. “Rokk, I’m not equipped to deal with something like this. I don’t know what to do or what to say. I just… I’m trying to be strong in front of Brainy, but I keep crying in front of him and I don’t want him to think it’s his fault, but I know he’s thinking it. How am I supposed to fix this?”

“Love him and be there for him,” Garth says. “Never let him think he’s alone. In time, he’ll get better.”

Is that going to be enough? Lyle doesn’t know. He’s going to try his damndest to keep Brainy from falling apart, but who knows if he’ll manage it?

TBC


	14. Orbiting

 

 **Chapter 14: Orbiting**

 _You named me judge the day that I was born_

 _You asked too much to fix what you had torn_

 _Things got out of hand, now I understand_

 _And I’m out of your range, now it’s kind of strange_

 _How we change orbit in our lives_

 _You were kind of a moon outside of my room_

 _I could just feel you move by_

 _Now I feel you gone, ‘cause I know which side you’re on_

 _And it’s not mine_

 **_-The Weepies, “Orbiting”_ **

Querl feels disconnected. This is his house, his family; the swell of his stomach that has continued to grow in the week since the assault is his unborn daughter. Yet, he does not feel as though any of these things are within his grasp.

 

Now he sleeps in a different room than Lyle. He knows that his husband still sleeps in the master bedroom, while Querl has been moved to the guestroom. It’s probably Lyle trying to keep from scaring Querl, but it feels too much like he’s losing Lyle. It reminds him too much of the words his rapists snarled in his ear.

 

He’s on his feet again, at least, and he drifts through the house occasionally, where no one makes any sudden movements and words are so carefully chosen that he can hardly have a conversation with another person. And Lyle’s the worst one. He’s so careful with Querl, it’s like he’s forgotten that Querl is completely devoted to him.

 

For the most part, he’s quiet. When he hears Lyle talking on his communicator to their friends, he doesn’t object to Lyle’s assertions that “Brainy is doing as well as can be expected.” He doesn’t correct Miss Sullivan when she pulls a chair out for him at the dinner table and pours his drinks for him. And most of all, he never explains to Ryn what happened.

 

The baby – Grace – she kicks him all the time and it has grown severely uncomfortable. He has a hard time sleeping, especially since Lyle is not in bed beside him to rub the knots out of his back and soothe his nightmares. Most nights, he lies awake for hours by himself. It’s difficult to fall asleep when he is alone at night. He is still plagued with irrational fear and self loathing.

 

He can’t keep going like this. For a while, he thought maybe he could, for the baby’s sake. But something has to change, or Querl is certain that he isn’t going to get better.

 

The guestroom is the room that he and Lyle were planning to remodel for the baby. There’s another room on the downstairs level that they’ve been using for a study/office, but this one is close to the master bedroom. Lyle had been excited about setting up the room – they’d been trying to decide what color to paint it. Lyle had joked and said they should “avoid green” since they didn’t want the baby to blend in with the walls.

 

Querl thinks maybe sky blue would be the best choice for the room, with a light green trim. He’s not much for interior design, but he knows he’ll end up spending a lot of time in the nursery, so why not paint it colors that he’ll like? The nursery is an excuse to be a little silly and decorate things in an impractical manner, just because his daughter deserves to be surrounded by color.

 

Right now, though, it’s a dull beige color and it feels more like a prison than a bedroom.

 

Finally, Querl can’t handle sleeping alone any longer. Lyle helps him to bed, like he does every night, and Querl lays there for a while, sleepless. Then he quietly gets up and pads down the hallway to the master bedroom.

 

He hesitates at the door, because he’s not sure how he’ll react to this room. He hasn’t been in it since the assault. But behind the door, Lyle is sleeping alone, and Querl wants to be lying beside him. So he carefully opens the door and shuffles inside.

 

As he climbs into the bed, causing the mattress to dip, Lyle stirs and rolls over to look at him through half-lidded eyes. “Brainy? What are you doing?”

 

“Getting in bed,” Querl replies as he slips beneath the covers and snuggles up to his husband. “I missed you.”

 

Lyle kisses the top of his head and sighs contentedly. “Missed you too, B.”

 

\--

 

Things don’t make sense to Ryn. He’s pretty sure that he had everything figured out before; before his mother hurt Querl like that and took him away. He was sure then that his mother loved him and that she was a good person and the smartest person ever. But now he’s thinking he was wrong about a lot of things, and it’s not a good feeling.

 

For starters, he thinks maybe Querl is a lot smarter than Mother. Because Querl knows how to love people, and that’s knowledge that Mother never acquired. And Querl has been a hero too, and saved people just for the sake of saving them. It seems like Querl truly knows everything.

 

But he has failed Querl. Instead of trusting his brother, he wanted so much to believe that Mother was always right. And Mother had hurt Querl. Ryn isn’t sure exactly how she hurt Querl, because it’s all very confusing, but he’s been trying to make sense of the facts.

 

Fact one, Mother hurt Querl because she wanted to keep him from following her to get Ryn back. That means Querl got hurt for Ryn’s sake.

 

Fact two, Mother didn’t want Ryn to see, but he _had_ seen Querl afterwards. That’s the most confusing part, because Querl was undressed and Ryn can’t figure out why he would be undressed. Also, Querl was crying, which Querl _never_ does, and he was scared.

 

And finally, fact three, Querl had to go to the hospital but the baby wasn’t hurt. It’s been over a week now since Mother hurt Querl, but he still seems almost ill. He doesn’t talk much these days, and hardly speaks to Ryn. It makes Ryn think that maybe Querl is upset with him.

 

The pretty lady, Chloe, comes to visit a lot these days. She plays with Ryn, since Lyle spends too much time worrying about Querl, and Querl doesn’t do much at all but wander around the house in a daze. Chloe says to be patient, because Querl is having a hard time. Still, every time Querl looks right through him, or doesn’t respond to a question, Ryn feels like he’s being _punished_.

 

If he can draw from all of this that Querl blames him for what happened, Ryn decides that he should avoid Querl at all costs. He doesn’t want Querl to be mad at him – Querl is his hero. This is kind of like having Superman mad at him, and it’s not fun.

 

He’s playing video games in the living room when he hears a scream from the kitchen and the unmistakable sound of a dish shattering on the hardwood floor. Panicked, Ryn scrambles to the kitchen, peering in cautiously from the doorway.

 

“B, I’m sorry. Please, just calm down, it’s just me. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

Lyle is reaching out to Querl, who is shrinking back from his touch and cowering against the kitchen counter. The scene is difficult for Ryn to understand. Querl is not easy to scare; he always seems to know when Lyle is present, even if Lyle is trying to sneak up on him invisibly. But right now, he looks like he did when Mother hurt him. His eyes are wide, and his face is pale, and he seems to be terrified of Lyle.

 

“Brainy… You have to calm down,” Lyle murmurs. “You know it’s me. Have I ever hurt you?”

 

There’s a moment of almost painful silence. Ryn waits for Querl to do something, _anything_.

 

Querl takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and then makes a small, distressed noise like he’s crying.

 

“I didn’t mean to. I just… I didn’t hear you coming, and… Lyle, I’m sorry.”

 

Instantly, Lyle moves and gathers Querl to him. “Oh, babe, it’s okay. We’re gonna’ get through this, you hear me?”

 

Ryn realizes he’s breathing funny, his chest heaving. He ducks back out of the doorway, trying to calm himself down. Spying on that scene sort of makes him feel guilty. If Querl knew he’d seen it, his brother would probably be upset.

 

Because he doesn’t know what else to do, Ryn goes back to the living room and climbs up onto the couch. He huddles into a protective ball and stares blankly at the screen still displaying his game across the room, set on pause.

 

Mother hurt him too. She said it was because Ryn hurt _her_ by saying that he hated her. But he’d only been telling the truth, because when he’d seen her towering over Querl, he had hated her with every fiber of his being. But then, he’d only hated her for a little while. He didn’t think it was enough to deserve what she’d done to him for it.

 

Every blow she’d dealt him was familiar and somehow foreign. For one thing, she’d never hit him so much at one time before. She usually smacked him once or twice, or pinched him until she brought blood, just to hear him cry out. This time, it was like she was fueled by anger. She hit and smacked and pinched him until all he could do was cry miserably and beg for forgiveness.

 

And it was different too because he’d gotten so used to living with Querl and Lyle, who never hurt him and who were rarely even angry with him, that he had forgotten what it was like to always hurt. He realized that he didn’t like hurting, even if it was for his mother’s sake. Things were better with Querl and Lyle, and he’d wanted that back.

 

Now here he is, in the living room with the family portrait on the wall staring down at him, and he has never felt quite so alone.

 

Presently, he hears footsteps approach. Lyle sits down on the couch beside him.

 

“Did you hear that, sweetie?” Lyle asks. And Ryn just nods, even though he actually saw the whole thing. “I’m sorry. Did it scare you?”

 

Ryn nods again reluctantly. “Querl’s really hurt, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, he is.” Lyle sounds a little choked as he speaks. “I’m sorry, buddy, I know I haven’t spent time with you lately. You have to understand that Querl is going to get better, but it’s going to take a long time. And I have to take care of him.”

 

Guilt washes over Ryn, and he bites his lower lip anxiously. “I’m sorry, Lyle. It’s my fault.”

 

“Why would you think that?” Lyle asks, looking surprised. “Baby, it’s not your fault.”

 

“I didn’t think she would hurt Querl,” Ryn whispers. His throat feels tight. “I… I love her so much, and I thought she loved me too. But she hurt Querl, and she could have hurt the baby. I should have trusted Querl, but I didn’t, and he got hurt.”

 

Lyle lifts him up, settling Ryn in his lap so that Ryn can rest his face against Lyle’s chest. “You couldn’t have known. You’re still so young. Being smart isn’t all there is to being wise, you know. That comes with time and experience.”

 

 “But I don’t want to _wait_ ,” Ryn snaps, scowling. “I should already know! If I’m so smart, I should have known!”

 

The arms around him tighten a little. “Oh, baby, there are so many things you don’t know yet. You’re not ever going to know everything. Querl is never going to know everything. That’s not the way the universe works. No matter how much you learn there will always be more to learn. It’s infinite.”

 

A tear rolls down Ryn’s cheek. He moves his hand to brush it away, but more follow it. “But can’t I at least know how to fix things? Or keep them from getting broken?”

 

“I’m sorry,” Lyle murmurs. “There’s no way I can explain this to you. It’s just… something you have to learn to deal with. Things are going to keep getting broken, and you can’t stop that. I can’t stop it. I wish I could. I want to keep your brother safe from everything, but all I can really do is… be there for him when he gets broken again.”

 

“I can’t help at all, can I?” Ryn asks softly. “I’m just in the way.”

 

“You’re not in the way.” Lyle kisses the top of Ryn’s head. “Let’s go somewhere, you and me. Would you like that?”

 

Ryn looks up at Lyle, surprised. “Where are we going?”

 

“It’s a surprise,” Lyle says with a smile.

 

Lyle calls Chloe and asks her to come over and stay with Querl. When she gets there, Lyle kisses Querl’s cheek and promises that they’ll be home before dinner.

 

After the wedding, Lyle bought a cruiser. Ryn and Querl helped him pick it out and Ryn really likes it. It’s a sleek, dark blue machine with comfy seats and a cool stereo. He and Lyle climb in and Lyle turns the stereo on. Pop music, the kind that Querl hates, blares from the speakers and Ryn sighs in relief. No more suffocating silence.

 

They drive into town and then further, until they come to a little building on the outskirts of town that’s been set aside from everything else. When Ryn opens the cruiser door, he hears a ruckus of dogs barking.

 

The big sign on the side of the building reads “Shelter.”

 

Lyle takes him by the hand and leads him into the building. The noise of the dogs barking makes Ryn nervous, and he sticks close to Lyle’s side as Lyle talks to the girl at the front desk. The girl smiles and points them in the direction of the terrible noise.

 

“Don’t be scared,” Lyle murmurs, picking him up. “They’re not going to hurt you.”

 

Ryn doesn’t know what to make of the place filled with cages that they step into. All the cages hold different kinds of dogs, some little and some big, and most of them barking incessantly. He clings to Lyle, a little scared even though Lyle said it was okay.

 

Some of the dogs are really big and fierce and Lyle walks past those quickly. But some cages he lingers at, and Ryn sees big, doleful eyes staring up at him from furry faces. He wonders why they’re all here, and why some of them are so angry while others are just sad.

 

“Hey, look here,” Lyle says, stopping in front of a cage. “This little guy is cute.”

 

The puppy inside the cage peers out at them with sharp, clever eyes. His ears are perked up and they twitch when Lyle speaks. He’s solid white, but he has lots of hair that’s kind of wavy. His eyes are bright blue.

 

“He’s an Australian Shepherd mix,” Lyle says, reading the tag on the cage door. “Those are smart dogs. Does he look smart to you?”

 

“Can he talk?” Ryn asks curiously.

 

Lyle laughs. “No, he’s a dog. He doesn’t speak Interlac. But dogs can learn the meanings of words if you teach them.”

 

He opens the cage door and crouches down. The puppy hesitantly comes over to them, sniffing Lyle’s hand curiously.

 

“Hey, boy,” Lyle greets the puppy. “Do you like him, Ryn?”

 

Ryn reaches out to pet the puppy’s fur. It’s soft, especially on his ears. The puppy licks his fingers.

 

“He’s cool, Lyle.”

 

“Do you want to take him home?” Lyle asks. “He could be your dog.”

 

“Like Krypto the Superdog?” Ryn asks.

 

“Yeah, except he can’t fly,” Lyle agrees.

 

Ryn wonders why Lyle is doing this now. What good will getting a puppy really do? Maybe he should just tell Lyle that he thinks it’s a bad idea and they can go home to Querl and act like they just went out for a drive. Querl doesn’t really care for pets; he probably wouldn’t like having a puppy around.

 

But when he draws his hand back, the puppy looks so disappointed. Ryn stares at him long and hard, trying to decide what to do.

 

“He needs someone, doesn’t he?” he asks Lyle.

 

Lyle just nods. He doesn’t need to say anything, because that’s all there is to it. Somehow this puppy got separated from his family and now he doesn’t have anyone. And Ryn could be there for him. Why not?

 

“Okay,” he says finally. “We should take him with us, then.”

 

They take the puppy up to the front desk and Lyle fills out some paperwork. The girl at the desk looks delighted that they’re taking the puppy home. “He’s such a good puppy,” she tells them. “I’m so glad he found a home.”

 

The puppy sits in Ryn’s lap on the drive home. Ryn tries to think of a good name for it. He considers naming it “Krypto” after Superman’s dog, but he’s not sure about that name. It doesn’t seem original to the puppy.

 

“Querl used to have a monkey,” Lyle tells him. “His name was Koko. Querl’s not very original with names. But he always liked Koko, even though he wouldn’t admit it.”

 

Ryn stares into the puppy’s blue eyes. “I think I’ll call him Sammy.”

 

“Sammy? That’s a cute name. I like it.” Lyle smiles encouragingly at him. “Now, whenever you feel lonely, you’ll have Sammy to keep you company. And I promise things aren’t going to be like this forever. Querl is going to get better. But until then, Sammy can help.”

 

When they get home and cart the puppy into the house, Querl meets them at the door. He sees the puppy and frowns, looking to Lyle for an explanation.

 

“Ryn needed a friend,” Lyle says defensively. “Every kid needs a puppy, B.”

 

Querl sighs and steps back to let them in. “Well, it’s your responsibility, then. The two of you have to take care of it.”

 

“We’ll be okay.” Ryn sets Sammy down in the living room and the puppy begins sniffing around curiously.

 

“What’s its name?” Querl asks, still sounding miffed but at least willing to humor them.

 

“His name is Sammy,” Ryn says firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s going to be my best friend.”

 

\--

 

Lyle struggles each day to pull it together. He can’t let himself rest – what right does he have to feel tired? It’s Brainy who’s hurt, and Ryn too, and Lyle couldn’t protect them so the least he can do now is take care of them.

 

Of course Brainy isn’t dealing at all. The most progress the Coluan has really made is to come back to the master bedroom of his own accord. Other than that, it’s obvious that he’s struggling even more than Lyle is. Lyle tries to be understanding, but he feels like he can’t even touch his husband anymore.

 

At least Ryn is doing better since they got Sammy. He spends a lot of time trying to teach Sammy various things, some of which Sammy picks up on pretty quick and most of which are impossible for a dog to ever grasp. Ryn also plays outside a lot now, since Sammy needs the exercise.

 

Today, Lyle is sitting on the front porch, watching Ryn and Sammy chase each other around the yard. He’s reading the news on his Omnicom and sipping a cup of tea. Where Brainy is, he’s not sure, since Brainy has been avoiding contact with everyone.

 

“I want to paint the nursery.”

 

Lyle jumps when he hears Brainy’s voice, and he’s even more shocked to see Brainy sit down beside him on the porch swing.

 

“Sky blue with light green trim,” Brainy continues.

 

“Those are nice colors,” Lyle agrees warily. “No pink?”

 

“I like blue and green,” Brainy says firmly.

 

Well, that’s settled then. Lyle glances at his husband, waiting for Brainy to say more, but the Coluan just leans back and seems to relax.

 

“Feeling alright?” Lyle asks.

 

“Okay,” Brainy agrees, managing a tight smile. “I just want to have everything ready for Grace.”

 

Lyle hesitantly shifts a little closer to Brainy. He’s not sure if Brainy wants to be touched, but Brainy answers the question for him by leaning against him snugly.

 

“Ryn likes the dog,” Brainy notes as though it’s a normal day and there’s nothing wrong. “I suppose I can admit that it was a good idea.”

 

“Yeah, he’s a good puppy,” Lyle agrees. He decides to push his luck and wraps an arm around Brainy’s shoulders. Brainy just snuggles a little closer. “Touching is okay, then?”

 

Brainy stiffens just a little, but then shrugs his shoulders. “For the most part, it’s fine. Just… let me know. Don’t surprise me. And Lyle, I’m sorry, but I… I can’t… Sex is out of the question. Please understand.”

 

“I do understand,” Lyle promises. “Of course I do. If… If you’re never comfortable with being intimate again, I’ll understand. I want us to try and work towards that eventually, because I don’t want you to always be scared. But I do get it.”

 

His husband relaxes, finally. “I’m sure it won’t be forever.”

 

“However long it takes,” Lyle says firmly. “You just focus on yourself for now.”

 

Ryn suddenly flops down on the grass, having exhausted himself, and Sammy drops down beside him. The puppy watches his master anxiously, his muzzle placed carefully between his front paws as he waits. Ryn murmurs something to him that Lyle can’t make out but it prompts the puppy to crawl forward and lick Ryn in the face, his tail wagging happily.

 

Brainy breathes a happy sigh. “I’m just glad he’s safe. He belongs here.”

 

“Yeah,” Lyle agrees with a smile. “We all do.”

 

“You know, Mother tried to tell me I was wasting myself here,” Brainy murmurs. “At the time, it seemed almost true. I couldn’t help thinking that if I was still in Legion, I would have been safer. And yet… she’s always searching for a way to be happy and she’s never found it. But I never even had to look. It found me.”

 

“That’s surprisingly sappy and romantic of you,” Lyle remarks. He’s sure he has a silly grin spread from ear to ear now.

 

The weight of his husband lying against him is comfortable and reassuring. When Brainy is right beside him like this, the constant worry that haunts Lyle now is abated. He sets his cup of tea aside and settles his free hand on the swell of Brainy’s middle.

 

“Don’t get used to it,” Brainy warns with a snort. “I just felt it needed to be said. It was purely logical.”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Lyle rolls his eyes. “I’m sure you’re going to be perfectly logical with our daughter too. You’re not going to spoil her or call her a princess or anything like that.”

 

“I will probably refer to her as “princess” or some sort of endearment but it will also be a perfectly logical action.”

 

“How do you figure that, exactly?”

 

Brainy smirks. “Because she _is_ a princess, as far as I’m concerned. And perception is reality.”

 

“You’re not playing by the rules, B.”

 

“Never said I was.”

 

TBC


	15. Tiny Light

**Chapter 15: Tiny Light**

 _I see a tiny light,_

 _Like a flashbulb sparkle_

 _In the night_

 _I see a tiny light_

 _Telling everyone to_

 _Hold on tight_

 **_-Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, “Tiny Light”_ **

 

One month after his mother’s assault on him, Querl is due for a checkup. It requires a physical examination. And he tries desperately to get out of it. He is not proud of himself for sinking to such levels, but he is scared enough to attempt to manipulate Lyle in various ways to keep from having to go to the appointment.

 

He asks first, plain and simple. The incredulous look that Lyle gives him makes Querl’s cheeks burn with shame as he looks away.

 

“I would rather not be exposed to someone like that,” he says.

 

Lyle’s mouth hardens into a thin line. “This is not about you, Brainy. This is about Grace. We have to make a plan – the doctor has to set a date for the birth before long, you know that.”

 

“Yes, but I just thought the physical examination might be unnecessary, I…”

 

“Of course it’s necessary.” Lyle cups Querl’s face in his hands and looks him in the eyes. “Babe, you have to.”

 

Querl withdraws from Lyle after that, a hollow ache settling in his chest. He is terrified, even though he knows that there’s nothing to be afraid of. But then again, what he really knows is that there _is_ something to be afraid of. All he wants is to protect himself, his body, from _that_.

 

He tries arguing with Lyle. When Lyle just ignores him, he persists and pushes, and says things that he doesn’t truly mean. He accuses Lyle of caring more about the baby than about Querl himself.

 

Lyle snaps.

 

“Don’t you _ever_ say that again! How dare you presume to make me choose between my husband and my daughter, Querl? Haven’t I been here for you every step of the way? Didn’t I tell you that I would support you, no matter what? But _you_ ultimately made the decision to go through with the pregnancy, and you will _take care of our baby_!”

 

The harsh words ricochet in Querl’s brain, tearing through him like bullets. He is hyperventilating, cowering before his husband’s anger. It’s just Lyle, Grife, he knows that. He knows that Lyle would never hurt him, that Lyle is just upset that Querl would say something like that, but still…

 

He is softly crying when Lyle finally seems to realize how loud he’s being. Lyle tries to reach out to him, but Querl draws back and miserably shakes his head. This is unforgivable. But how can he resent Lyle’s actions when he’s sure his own words hurt his husband just as much?

 

The night before the appointment, he sinks to his lowest level. As they prepare for bed, Querl lowers himself to his knees before his husband and whispers, “If you will just grant me this one thing, tonight I will… I will… Please…”

 

His hands touch Lyle’s thighs and, shaking, slowly move up to his husband’s cock. But Lyle reaches out and grabs him by the wrists, looking horrified. The human slides down onto the floor beside Querl, pressing his hands to Querl’s face.

 

“No, don’t do that,” Lyle insists. “Brainy, don’t even think something like that. I’m not trying to hurt you. I know you’re scared. But you have got to trust me.”

 

“I don’t want anyone _touching_ me,” Querl replies, desperate for Lyle to understand. “Lyle, please…”

 

Lyle’s lips press against his firmly. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” the other man whispers against Querl’s mouth. “Trust me, I will keep you safe.”

 

The horrifying truth that Lyle cannot truly keep him safe settles on Querl like a thick cloud of dust, choking and blinding him. He stares over Lyle’s shoulder at nothing, never responding to the kiss.

 

\--

 

Paper gowns are pointless. Whoever got it in their head that a paper gown actually provided any modesty, apparently never had to wear one. Querl tries not to fidget as he sits on the examination table, doing his best to stay covered with the white sheet the nurse provided.

 

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Lyle promises with a hand on Querl’s shoulder for moral support.

 

But then the doctor comes in, the older man that Querl has been seeing ever since coming in with a supposed cold, and he arches his eyebrows at Querl in surprise. “My my, Mr. Dox, it has apparently been quite some time since you were last here.”

 

“I was significantly less pregnant at the time,” Querl grouses. He doesn’t like the old man, and only continues to see him because he actually is an adept doctor.

 

“Yes, I suppose you were.” The doctor scans a personal Omnicom, frowning. “Your most recent medical records were sent to me and I’m very concerned that you didn’t make an appointment with me sooner, all things considered. You had an appointment several weeks back.”

 

Querl ducks his head, unwilling to look the doctor in the eyes. An appointment with yet another doctor after all of that had just been too much for him at the time.

 

“We were trying to wait and let Querl get back on his feet,” Lyle explains softly. He squeezes Querl’s shoulder. “I’ve been carefully monitoring the baby myself, however. I’m no doctor, but Querl is, and he knows what he needs to do to stay healthy. And I’m knowledgeable enough to keep an eye on him.”

 

The doctor shrugs his shoulders. “Given the circumstances, that is understandable. Well, let’s start from that point, then. Have you been seeing a professional since the assault?”

 

“No,” Querl mumbles. “I’ve been trying to sort things out on my own.”

 

“Okay, and how has that been?” The doctor is unusually patient today; he’s usually a very brash individual. “Have you been having any flashbacks or nightmares? Have you had any worrisome thoughts or feelings?”

 

This is not something that Querl wants to talk about in front of Lyle. He wraps his arms around himself, trying to ignore the feeling of his throat tightening. “I… I am capable of blocking flashbacks,” he admits quietly. “When I am conscious, I can keep memories under control. Nightmares… I have been having nightmares almost every night. Those got a little better when I started sleeping in the same bed as Lyle again.”

 

“Do you think blocking the flashbacks is healthy?” the doctor questions. “Do you think maybe you’re keeping yourself from learning how to deal with them?”

 

“I just do it without thinking about it,” Querl admits, biting his lip. “I’ve been told before that it isn’t healthy.”

 

“I’m going to recommend that you start seeing someone. That’s not my area of expertise, unfortunately, but I think it will be in your best interest to start learning how to deal with this.”

 

Querl doesn’t say anything. Of course, he knew that eventually someone would insist that he seek professional help, but he’d been trying his best to keep from needing that.

 

“On to physical things,” the doctor says, “have you been experiencing any strange pains?”

 

“It’s been surprisingly normal,” Querl says, shrugging his shoulders. “She kicks as much as she ever did, and nothing out of the ordinary has happened.”

 

“Let’s check you over, just to be certain. Lie back on the table.”

 

As he obeys the doctor’s orders, Querl tries not to panic. The doctor’s hands clinically poking and prodding, sterilized by rubber gloves, make him want to squirm away. He takes a deep breath and forces himself to stay still.

 

“Doing okay?” Lyle asks him. “If it’s too much, say something. Remember, no one here wants to make you uncomfortable.”

 

Querl grimaces when the doctor prods the underside of his belly. “Sure. The good doctor is just trying to push our daughter out through the top, no big deal.”

 

To his relief, the doctor turns away and strips off his gloves. “We’re all done, Mr. Dox. We’ll do an ultrasound, just to make sure the baby is growing properly, but you’re progressing remarkably well for a male. I’ve only been around a few male pregnancies, of course – it’s relatively new. But from what I’ve seen, the second pregnancy is normally much easier than the first.”

 

“Second pregnancy?” Querl’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline. He glances at Lyle and frowns. “Don’t get any ideas, Norg.”

 

Lyle holds his hands up innocently. “Who, me?”

 

Of course, Querl is not fooled. Lyle probably wants a bunch of kids – not that he’d ever insist on it, he’s far too nice for that. The truth is, Querl would like to give Lyle everything he wants, but raising two kids is going to be crazy enough and this being pregnant thing has really sucked so far.

 

“Maybe _you_ can have the next one,” he suggests, smirking at the way all of the color drains from Lyle’s face.

 

\--

 

On the ride home from the hospital, Lyle mentions Garth’s offer. He’s hesitant to do so, but the doctor seemed to think it would be a good idea for Brainy to talk to someone other than Lyle about what he’s gone through. They both trust Imra, and that’s important. Brainy’s not likely to open up to very many people about this.

 

“I’m doing better,” Brainy mutters sullenly, glaring out the window. He hates for anyone to imply that he can’t handle something. “It’s not like I’m getting worse.”

 

“You are doing better,” Lyle agrees, nodding. He reaches over and pats Querl’s leg. “Babe, you know I have faith in you. But you shouldn’t have to deal with this by yourself. Let your friends help you.”

 

Brainy sighs in exasperation and looks over at Lyle with a wry smile. “I’m supposed to be smarter than you. Why are you always proving me wrong?”

 

“You don’t look before you leap,” Lyle says with a shrug and a smile of his own. “But to be fair, I’m sure I could never match you for sheer brilliance.”

 

It’s true that Lyle long ago accepted that Brainy is the smarter of them. However, without Lyle around to keep him out of trouble, Brainy’s ambitions tend to blow up in his face – literally.

 

“So, can I call Imra and Garth?” he pushes, hoping Brainy’s feeling amiable enough to agree.

 

“Sure, go ahead,” Brainy replies, waving a hand in the air. “I’m surprised they haven’t already insisted on visiting. Imra’s a mother hen if there ever was one.”

 

They’re at a stoplight, so Lyle leans over and kisses Brainy’s cheek softly. “You’re going to be alright, B. We’re all going to be alright.”

 

\--

 

Querl steps out of the master bedroom, still blurry and half asleep – right onto a pile of tiny building blocks. He swears loudly and nearly falls over, unable to grasp his aching foot because he can’t actually even _see_ his feet right now, let alone reach them.

 

The hallway is full of little block buildings – an intricate town that must have taken Ryn hours to do. In fact, if Querl knows his little brother, Ryn was probably up all night building this. He follows the trail of blocks down the hall and into the living room, where he realizes that the miniature town takes up the whole room and is even starting to invade the kitchen.

 

“What in the name of science is going on in here?” he demands loudly, even though he can’t see Ryn. The boy has to be somewhere nearby. The puppy, Sammy, is sitting by the front door and whining softly, like he knows his master is about to be in serious trouble.

 

Ryn peers around the kitchen doorway at Querl, blinking at him with wide, innocent eyes. “Oh, you’re up early, Querl.”

 

“Up early… I’m up early?!” Querl splutters. “You apparently got up a lot earlier than I did, young man! Shortly after Lyle and I went to bed, maybe?”

 

“Uh… I couldn’t sleep,” Ryn admits sheepishly. “There wasn’t enough space in my bedroom, so I was just going to use the hallway, but then I had some really cool ideas and Uncle Garth bought me all those blocks anyway so I thought, why not?”

 

Querl puts a hand over his eyes, counts to five, and tries to calm himself down. “Okay, well, bedtime is not the appropriate time for building blocks, and I’m afraid you’ll have to clean all of this up. There’s no room to walk around.”

 

“Aw, Querl, I worked hard on this!” Ryn objects. He sticks his lower lip out, pouting. “I’m not even finished yet!”

 

“That’s too bad,” Querl snaps. “I want some tea and I can’t even get to the kitchen because there’s a green and yellow railroad in my way and I don’t have on any shoes. I’ve already stepped on blocks once this morning. Now, get them all cleaned up right away, before Lyle makes the same mistake that I did and thinks he has nothing to fear in the bedroom hallway.”

 

Still scowling, Ryn grabs a block bucket and quickly gathers up the block railroad, making a path for Querl before he begins gathering up the rest of his toys. With a sigh, Querl shuffles into the kitchen, making his way to the stove.

 

Before he gets halfway there, something slick in the floor makes his foot slide against the tile. He has to grab the kitchen counter to keep from falling flat on his rear, only barely managing to keep himself upright. Heart beating fast, he takes a deep breath before looking to investigate the second thing to nearly trip him this morning.

 

There’s a yellow puddle in the floor. Querl stares at it for a moment before realizing that there’s only one thing it could be. He narrows his eyes and hobbles over to a chair, rubbing his temples.

 

A few moments later, he hears Lyle shout in surprise upstairs – apparently Ryn didn’t get all of the blocks cleaned up in time.

 

“Ryn, what… why are there blocks all over the place?” Lyle’s voice demands.

 

“I’m cleaning them up!” Ryn snaps back at him. “Querl already got mad, so I’m cleaning them up, okay?”

 

Lyle pokes his head into the kitchen a few moments later, frowning when he sees Querl. “You okay, B? I saw the mess Ryn made. At least he’s cleaning it up.”

 

“The dog,” Querl says very slowly, “urinated in the floor. I nearly killed myself because I _slipped_ in it.”

 

“Are you okay?” Lyle asks worriedly, looking Querl over with a critical eye. “The baby’s alright?”

 

“I caught myself on the counter,” Querl assures him, still scowling fiercely. “The baby is fine. I nearly had a heart attack, but I think I’ll recover. What I want to know is why exactly did the dog, who is normally very good about going outside, decide to urinate in the kitchen floor this morning?”

 

Shrugging, Lyle gets a wet rag to clean up the urine, and wipes off Querl’s foot as well. Querl’s skin still crawls and he’d go wash his feet thoroughly, but again, he really can’t reach his feet right now.

 

“I’m sure it was just an accident,” Lyle placates. “Sammy’s a very clever puppy.”

 

“I’ll tell you why it happened,” Querl says firmly. “It’s because Ryn got so wrapped up in playing that he forgot that he’s not the only person who lives in this house. The dog is sitting by the front door right now – it obviously _still_ needs to go out. You and Ryn both promised me that Ryn would take care of that animal if I let you keep it.”

 

Lyle sighs and nods. “Look, B, I’ll talk to him about it. I’m sure he didn’t mean to neglect the puppy. He’s just a kid, you now.”

 

“When I was his age, I was on a strict schedule every day,” Querl grumbles. “I didn’t have _time_ to get up to the sort of nonsense that Ryn gets up to.”

 

“Babe, relax. I’ll make you some tea.” Lyle kisses the top of Querl’s head and sets about brewing a pot of herbal tea. “Get in a better mood, alright? Imra and Garth should be here tonight.”

 

Querl could scream. He’d totally forgotten that they have company today. He doesn’t feel like tolerating other people; all he wants to do is go back to bed and hide under the covers.

 

However, he heaves himself back onto his feet and goes to let the puppy out before it makes anymore messes. Sammy looks up at him with doleful eyes when he sees Querl, and Querl almost feels a little sorry for him.

 

“I’m not mad at you,” he assures the animal. “It’s not your fault.”

 

He stands out on the porch, waiting for Sammy to get it all out of his system. How did he get talked into another pet? Koko was bad enough and he’d sworn he was never getting another animal. And yet, here he is, watching a puppy defecate on his lawn, about to praise the little beast for that very action because the lawn is so much better than the kitchen floor.

 

Sammy’s tail is wagging happily as he trots back over to Querl. Awkwardly, Querl crouches down to pat Sammy’s head. “Very good,” he murmurs. “Good dog.”

 

Even though Querl really doesn’t like animals, he thinks he and Sammy have an unspoken understanding. Ever since the puppy was brought home, he has respected Querl’s space. Maybe Querl has one of those intimidating personalities that people say dogs answer to. If that’s true, the same must not apply to monkeys.

 

Sometimes, though, he has to admit that he misses Koko. Maybe it’s because at the time, he was dealing with his mother’s attempt to murder him and the lack of support he was receiving from his friends. Koko filled a hole in Querl’s life.

 

Now, there aren’t any holes that Querl needs filled, and he’s more than a little irritated about the puddle in the floor. He can tell that this day is going to keep going downhill from here.

 

Breakfast is a very solemn affair. Lyle sat Ryn down to talk to him about seeing to Sammy’s needs, and now Ryn’s feelings are hurt and he’s giving Lyle and Querl both the silent treatment. Querl stares at him from across the table, and Ryn stares right back stubbornly.

 

“Okay, I have to run to town and get a few things,” Lyle says once he’s finished his meal. “You two need to try and get along. Ryn, I need you to help your brother with the dishes, alright?”

 

“I don’t want to!” Ryn immediately objects. “I want to go with you, Lyle!”

 

Lyle frowns at the little boy and shakes his head. “You need to stay here and keep an eye on Querl for me, are we clear?”

 

“I don’t need Ryn keeping an eye on me.” It’s Querl’s turn to object. “I’ll be just fine on my own.”

 

“Absolutely not, Ryn is staying here.” Lyle fixes Querl with a stern look. “That’s final, Brainy. Don’t argue with me about it.”

 

“This is ridiculous,” Querl mutters under his breath, but he doesn’t push it. If Lyle thinks he needs someone with him, it’s easier to just agree.

 

Ryn stays in a sour mood, even while they’re washing dishes together. Apparently it’s all Querl’s fault that he got in trouble for the blocks and for Sammy’s accident in the kitchen. To be fair, Ryn doesn’t often get in trouble for anything. Maybe he just doesn’t know how to deal with his guardians’ disapproval.

 

“When Mother was here,” Ryn suddenly speaks up, his little hands clutching the plate he’s supposed to be drying, “what did those men do?”

 

The question catches Querl off guard. He tenses, wondering why Ryn is bringing this up now. “They did a very bad thing,” he murmurs, scrubbing a dish with a little more ferocity than is really necessary. “Don’t worry about it; it’s not something you need to know.”

 

“But I’ve been thinking about it,” Ryn persists. “And… did you have sex with them?”

 

“ _What_?!” Querl turns to look at Ryn incredulously. “Why would you ask me something like that?”

 

“If you did, that’s like cheating, isn’t it? And maybe you’re upset because you cheated on Lyle and that’s bad.”

 

“That’s not what happened,” Querl says, trying to keep his voice steady. “Drop it now, Ryn.”

 

“But I don’t understand why you would cheat on Lyle!” Ryn’s determined to push the issue. “And I don’t understand why you’re always scared of him now, and why you had to go to the hospital!”

 

“Because those men hurt me!” Querl exclaims. His hands are shaking, so he lets the dish he was cleaning sink back into the soapy water. “And you’re not old enough to understand what they did, so stop trying to figure it out! I don’t _want_ you to know!”

 

Ryn quiets, staring at Querl with wide eyes. “… You were undressed. I saw you.”

 

“Yes, I was.” Querl grasps the counter and bows his head, trying to keep Ryn from seeing the way his face is twisted in pain. “And I wish you would drop it, because there’s no way I can explain this to you. But sometimes people use sex to hurt other people, okay? It hurts worse than… worse than anything. You never really get better.”

 

For a moment, Ryn doesn’t make a sound, but his eyes reflect hurt. “Lyle said you’d get better, though.”

 

Querl doesn’t want to be having this conversation with Ryn right now, or ever at all. He can’t even begin to think about having _the talk_ with his little brother, has no idea how to even address that matter and has always planned to make Lyle do it instead. This particular subject is about a million times worse to talk about.

 

“Yes, that’s… what I mean, Ryn, is that it always sticks with you.” He takes a deep breath and looks over at his brother. “I’m not afraid of Lyle. It’s just that after something like that, your brain gets… reprogrammed. You’re always trying to keep yourself safe and… and anybody could be a threat, even if you know they’d never hurt you. Do you understand?”

 

“Not really,” Ryn says quietly. “Are you always going to be like that?”

 

“I don’t know.” Querl takes a deep, shuddering breath. “I don’t want to be. I’m trying really hard to fix this, but you’ve got to be patient.”

 

Ryn stares at him, as though trying to gain some understanding in the lines of Querl’s face, but then looks away. Apparently the answer isn’t written all over Querl like Ryn was hoping it would be. Part of Querl, the cruel and childish part, wants to say, “See? I don’t know everything, and neither do you, and no one could ever know everything, so just stop thinking like that.”

 

But he doesn’t say that. Instead, he uses a towel to dry his hands off and then reaches out to his brother. His hands are still trembling, but he takes Ryn’s smaller hands in a firm grip.

 

“You shouldn’t need to know all of this yet,” he murmurs. “I know you hate being confused. It’s the worst feeling for someone like us, because everything else comes to us so easily that we don’t really know how to deal with stuff that’s too hard.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Ryn says, even though he probably doesn’t quite get it. “So… you didn’t _want_ to have sex with them?”

 

“Of course not,” Querl responds, scowling. Just the thought makes him feel ill, but he swallows and tries not to let it bother him. Ryn’s questions are innocent enough; the boy just hasn’t developed any sense of tact quite yet. “I love Lyle, and I have never wanted to cheat on him. This doesn’t count as cheating, because it wasn’t in my control. It wasn’t something I did – it was something done _to me_.”

 

Ryn nods and bows his head, apparently feeling a little remorseful. “I didn’t mean to make you sad, Querl.”

 

“Yeah, it’s okay,” Querl says, glancing away. “You didn’t know, now you do, and that’s that. Let’s finish these dishes and you can help me pick things up around the house before your aunt and uncle get here, alright?”

 

\--

 

 “The trick to this is to be as relaxed as possible,” Imra says as she lights the various scented candles that she brought with her. “It’s going to be hard to talk your mind into unlocking some of these memories, and it’s better if you’re not tense the whole time.”

 

She and Querl are in the master bedroom, sitting in the floor with Imra’s candles arranged around them. It reminds Querl a bit of a séance, and it’s probably more than a little superstitious, but no one could accuse Imra of not knowing her trade well.

 

Downstairs, Garth and Lyle are watching the twins and keeping Ryn entertained. Lyle had wanted to stay with Querl during this but Imra was adamant that in a delicate procedure like this, it was better if there were as few minds involved as possible.

 

“What if it doesn’t work?” Querl asks. “What if my brain just won’t deal with it all? Maybe that’s not how Coluans work.”

 

Imra smiles patiently. “You forget that I have been in your head before, Brainy. You’re not as different from the rest of us as you might think.”

 

“Stuff like this makes me a little nervous.” Querl shifts, trying to get a little more comfortable. “I trust you, of course. It’s just that my brain is kind of my claim to fame.”

 

“I promise that your brain will not be harmed. We’re not going to force anything, we’re just going to try and coax your mind a little.”

 

Querl takes a deep breath and nods. He can let himself trust Imra, at least. Over the years, she has proven herself to him many times over. Part of him still doesn’t want her to see what’s in his head right now, but part of him also knows that he needs this.

 

“Did it happen in this room?” Imra asks him.

 

“Yes,” he replies, and his voice is calm and cold, but the question sets him on edge. “I suppose she thought that would make it worse.”

 

“Did it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Imra reaches out and takes Querl’s hands in her own. “Just close your eyes. Try not to panic, even if the memories feel abnormally vivid. It’s perfectly normal. Remember that you are here with me and nothing can actually happen to you.”

 

He hesitates to follow her instructions. “What about the baby?” he asks urgently. “This can’t hurt her, right?”

 

“I wouldn’t do anything to put her in danger,” Imra murmurs. “When are you going to learn to trust me, Brainy?”

 

“I’ve always trusted you,” Querl says with a short laugh. “As much as I’ve ever trusted anyone, I suppose.”

 

With a deep sigh, he tells himself to relax and closes his eyes. Imra’s presence is there in his mind, urging him to let go of all his tension and fear. A wave of calm serenity washes over him, acting as a soothing balm.

 

 _“I am going to open a memory now,”_ Imra’s mind whispers to him. _“Don’t be scared.”_

 

(… _Hands grip him, bruising him as he is marched into the house. He’s fighting them, trying to dig his heels in, but he’s small compared to these lackeys of his mother’s, and they just drag him if he won’t walk._

 _“Take Ryn into another room, there’s no need for him to see this,” his mother says._

 _His baby brother is screaming, crying, and he can’t get to him. No matter how he struggles, he can’t get free and he can’t protect himself and his children._

 _The woman who is supposed to be his mother stands, unmoved, like a beautiful statue._

 _“Violate him.”_ )

 

Querl cries out, his eyes shooting open. His body is trembling, and for a minute he’s completely disoriented. He expects his mother and her underlings to be here in the room with him, but they’re gone. Instead, Imra is with him, still holding his hands.

 

Then he remembers that it was just an image that Imra pulled from his head. He tries to get his breathing under control, but his heart is pounding in his chest.

 

“Is this really going to help?” he asks her miserably. The last thing he wants to do is relive all of that.

 

Imra rubs his hands soothingly. “I’ll make it better,” she promises. “You feel guilty for not being able to keep Ryn safe. You were afraid something was going to happen to the baby and you couldn’t stop it. That’s a normal feeling, but it wasn’t your fault.”

 

“If I had stayed on my game… if I hadn’t been pregnant…” Querl swallows thickly, because he doesn’t want to cry.

 

“I know being pregnant made you feel vulnerable anyway,” Imra says kindly. “I know that without reading your mind, because I’ve been there. Being pregnant was the scariest thing I’ve ever been up against. The whole time, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to defend myself or I’d do something to hurt the twins. Is that how you feel about your little girl?”

 

“Yes,” Querl says, blinking back tears. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

 

“You’re going to be a wonderful parent, Querl, because you love your daughter. But in order to take care of her, you have to take care of yourself. Do you want to try one more memory?”

 

He nods and closes his eyes again, trying to mentally steel himself for whatever is coming.

 

(… _He wakes up and Lyle is there, just like he’d hoped. Immense relief fills him, but he can hardly believe his eyes. Before, he’d been terrified he’d never see Lyle again._

 _“Lyle? You’re here.” His throat aches from crying and screaming, so that it almost hurts too much to speak._

 _“Of course I’m here, B.” Lyle takes his hand and holds tight. “How are you doing?”_

 _Everything hurts, everything is awful, but his own discomfort is quickly pushed to the back of his mind because he remembers something so much more important. “The baby? Is the baby okay?”_

 _“Yeah, sweetie, the baby’s okay.” Lyle looks like he’s about to cry. It’s been a while since he has seen Lyle this distressed. “The doctor did an ultrasound to make sure. He says it’s a girl.”_

 _A wonderful, warm feeling of love overwhelms him. “A girl.”_ )

 

This time when Querl opens his eyes, he knows he’s crying. It’s not because it’s a bad memory. It’s actually because even though that memory is from one of the worst events of his life, it’s one of the most amazing memories he has. He knows he’ll treasure it for the rest of his life.

 

“Are you okay?” Imra asks him.

 

He nods. “Yeah, I’m… I’m alright.”

 

“That was a beautiful memory.”

 

Querl chokes and bows his head. “I… I almost forgot,” he admits quietly. “It was in the middle of… of all that, and…”

 

“No matter how bad things get, you’ll always have moments like that one,” his friend tells him solemnly. “You can do this. Just think of all the happiness you’d be missing out on if you gave up.”

 

Imra lets go of Querl’s hands and he presses them against his round middle, managing a smile through his tears. “She’s worth it, Imra. If I had to go through every bad moment all over again for her, I’d do it.”

 

It doesn’t solve everything. This isn’t going to make all of his nightmares disappear, or take away his now deep-rooted fear of sexual intercourse. But it has reminded him that if the only thing he had left to live for was his baby, his Grace, then that would be more than enough.

 

~TBC


	16. I'm Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Home Life is finally finished. It's been fun, I've enjoyed writing this story, but all things must come to an end. Never fear, though - keep your eyes open for the sequel, Up in the Stars. The sequel will chronicle Ryn's adventures as a Legionnaire, plus more. Also, I fully intend to write some short stories about baby Grace, so be on the lookout.

**Chapter 16** : **I’m Home**

 

 _And we’re hurrying and we wait,_

 _And we’re tumbling to the gate,_

 _Send me clearly over the ocean to find you_

 _Close your eyes, baby_

 _Close your eyes, sunshine_

 _Just this one last sunrise_

 _And I’m home, I’m home_

 **_-Aqualung, “Arrivals”_ **

 

 _“Okay, guys, the camera’s rolling! Everybody say hi to Grace!”_

 _“Hi, Gracie!”_

 _“Hello, Grace. Please hurry up and get here before my back gives out under the strain.”_

 _“Brainy! Gracie, your mommy didn’t mean that. He’s okay with his back giving out, I promise.”_

 _“Just know that it was no easy task bringing you into the world, Princess. Always remember to clean your room, eat your vegetables, and grow up to be a brilliant scientist.”_

 _“Or anything you want to be, baby girl!”_

 _“Or a brilliant scientist.”_

 _“Brainy, will you knock it off?”_

 _“Gracie, get here soon! I can’t wait to see you!”_

 _“We love you, Gracie!”_

 

\--

 

“Do you have everything you need?” Lyle asks anxiously, checking Brainy’s duffel bag to make sure there’s nothing missing. “Are you sure you’re completely ready?”

 

Finally, the day is here. Today they’re going in for Brainy’s C-Section, and they’re finally going to have Grace. Is Lyle excited? Of course he’s excited. But he’s also terrified that something could still go wrong. Even here at the end of this long wait, something could happen.

 

Surprisingly, Brainy seems rather relaxed about it all. “Lyle, will you calm down? I packed it myself. Everything we’ll need is there. But if we wait around here any longer, we’re going to miss the appointment. Grace might get impatient and decide she wants out the usual way.”

 

Lyle grimaces. “Right, of course you’re right. Let’s get you out to the cruiser, then.”

 

He supports his husband to the cruiser, because Brainy is so round now that he has trouble walking any sort of distance. Lyle settles him into the cruiser and then makes sure that Ryn is buckled in securely in the backseat. Then he checks the time, makes sure he has his communicator, and only then does he get into the driver’s seat.

 

“Are you comfortable?” he asks Brainy nervously.

 

“Are you going to record this part too?” Brainy asks him in return. “I think it would amuse our daughter greatly to see her father freaking out like this.”

 

Lyle glares at him and starts the car. “Aren’t you nervous?”

 

“Hmm? Of course not, they’re going to be giving me drugs,” Brainy replies with a shrug. He regards Lyle silently for a moment before cracking a smile. “Relax, Lyle, there’s very little chance that anything will go wrong. We’ve done everything right and this is a very safe procedure.”

 

“Yeah, of course, you’re right.” Lyle forces himself to smile back, before leaning over to lightly kiss Brainy. His husband returns the kiss without hesitating. “Love you, B.”

 

“I love you too,” Brainy says solemnly, looking him right in the eyes. “We’ll be okay.”

 

Brainy’s arms are wrapped around his belly, with is so round now that the poor Coluan looks like he might pop. It still amazes Lyle to know that their baby is inside Querl, and soon Gracie will finally be born. Even though he’s scared, Lyle is also so excited that he just about can’t stand it.

 

He manages not to speed to the hospital, even though he’s pretty sure this is one of those scenarios where it’s okay to do that. Brainy’s not in labor or anything like that; it’s just that Lyle can’t wait for this last stressful event to be over. He can’t wait to hold his daughter in his arms.

 

It’s not until they’re at the hospital and Brainy is being prepped for surgery that the Coluan starts to express any anxiety. He grips Lyle’s hand as the anesthesia is administered that will keep the lower half of his body numb throughout this.

 

“What if it’s too early?” he asks nervously. “What if she’s not ready to come out yet?”

 

“Then I’ll make the doctor put her right back in until she’s ready,” Lyle promises with a reassuring smile. He’s so nervous that he can hardly sit still, but it’s important that Brainy feels safe, so Lyle does his best to appear calm and collected.

 

The Ranzz-Ardeen family arrives while Brainy is being prepped. Ryn isn’t happy about not getting to stay in the room during the operation, but Imra and Garth manage to convince him to stay with them and Ayla while they all wait. The twins have been left with Garth and Ayla’s parents, and Garth, Imra, and Ayla will be watching the house and Ryn while Brainy is in the hospital for the next couple of days.

 

“Take a deep breath and remember that Brainy’s strong,” Garth says, patting Lyle on the shoulder. “Everything is going to be alright.”

 

Lyle nods and smiles gratefully before going to change into hospital scrubs for the operation.

 

When he returns to Brainy’s side, he finds that his husband has gotten fairly nervous about having strange people around him while he’s this vulnerable. He’s watching the nurses like a hawk, and he seems immensely relieved to see Lyle.

 

“Is it almost time?” Brainy asks, reaching out to Lyle. “How much longer?”

 

Lyle takes his hand and sits down in the chair beside Brainy’s bed. “I’m not sure, but the doctor should be here soon. Don’t worry about it, okay? I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. Now, are you going to be okay with me filming this?”

 

He lifts up the recording camera and pushes the on button. “Anything you want to say before this all gets started?”

 

“I… I don’t know.” Brainy looks down, embarrassed that he’s being filmed unprepared. “I guess… I just hope everything goes well.”

 

“Are you excited to meet Gracie?” Lyle asks as he trains the camera on his husband.

 

Brainy smiles shyly and nods. “Of course, but… I’m worried too. Part of me just wants to… I don’t know, keep her with me. She’s safe where she is, and… there’s a whole universe out here to hurt her, Lyle. Do I really have to give it the opportunity?”

 

“Babe, she has to come out.” Lyle chuckles fondly and squeezes Brainy’s hand. “And we’re going to take great care of her.”

 

“You’re right, of course,” Brainy murmurs, but he still looks uncertain. He’s obviously scared, very nervous, and it’s starting to show on his face. But still, there’s a certain glow in his eyes that lets Lyle know how excited Brainy is to finally be at this point.

 

Lyle lets the camera zoom in on Brainy’s face. “You know you’re beautiful right now?” he asks.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m a mess,” Brainy replies, but his cheeks blush dark green. He smiles, despite his best efforts to look serious, and Lyle thinks he looks absolutely gorgeous.

 

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Lyle says firmly.

 

Before Brainy can object to that, the doctor arrives. He explains to them the procedure they’re about to do, though Lyle and Brainy are both fairly familiar with the details of such an operation. When he’s done explaining, he looks at Brainy and asks, “Are you ready?”

 

“I think so,” Brainy replies, his voice trembling just a little.

 

And it’s finally time to welcome their daughter into the universe.

 

\--

 

A screen is raised so that Querl can’t see the incision the doctors will be making. He can imagine the blood that’s going to result, and wonders if Lyle will have the good sense not to watch or if the fool will try to film _that_ too.

 

The doctor announces everything before he actually does it. Not that it matters, because Querl can’t feel a thing. The doctor could completely remove the lower half of his body and it would take Querl a while to notice.

 

“Alright, the first incision has been made.”

 

Querl takes a deep breath. One step closer; isn’t there any way to hurry this process up?

 

“Just stay calm,” Lyle tells him gently. “We’re getting there. Just a little longer.”

 

“The second incision has been made,” the doctor announces. “I’m reaching in for the baby.”

 

This is the part that the nurse warned might be uncomfortable. A few moments pass and Querl’s face twists up at the tugging pressure he feels as the doctor slowly eases his child from his body. It’s not painful, particularly, just strange and unnatural.

 

The nurse lowers the screen a little so that Querl can see when the doctor lifts the baby, a tiny, bloody, green figure. “Here’s your little girl, Mr. Dox!”

 

Irrational fear grips Querl and he clutches Lyle’s hand tight. “Isn’t she supposed to cry? She’s… she’s really small…”

 

The cord is cut and a nurse takes the baby as the doctor finishes up the procedure. Querl watches the nurse with his child anxiously.

 

“Calm down, she’ll be fine. She’s not too small.” Lyle kisses his forehead lovingly. “Just wait for it…”

 

A moment later a stuttering cry grows into a loud wail. Querl inhales sharply. “She’s okay, right? Can’t I have her yet?”

 

“I’ll go check,” Lyle murmurs, rising from his seat.

 

Querl watches the nurse hand a tiny bundle over to his husband. A moment later, Lyle returns to his side and lowers the crying bundle close to Querl’s face.

 

“You can hold her when the doctor’s done getting you put back together,” Lyle promises. “The nurses are just going to have her for a few minutes to make sure she’s completely healthy while you’re moved to recovery.”

 

But Querl is hardly listening to him. He’s fascinated by the tiny face, scrunched up as the tiny baby howls her displeasure. She’s so tiny, and Querl wishes he could hold her, just to keep her safe. He turns his face to press a kiss against her cheek.

 

“Hush, Gracie, everything is okay,” he says tenderly, using the endearment he’d sworn off before without really thinking about it. “I’m here, Princess.”

 

But then the nurse steps in and takes Grace back. Querl feels her loss keenly, and his lower lip trembles as he tries not to cry.

 

“Easy, babe, everything is going to be okay,” Lyle says, holding his hand again. “They’ll bring her right back.”

 

Despite Lyle’s reassurance, Querl stays anxious until the baby is brought back to him in recovery and settled in his arms. He accepts her reverently, like she’s made of porcelain and might break if he’s not as careful as he can possibly be.

 

This time Grace has calmed down, and her expression is much more serene. She peers up at him with soft, green eyes that are already bright and alert.

 

“She has your eyes,” Lyle murmurs softly.

 

Querl peers at the child a little closer and notices tiny flecks of brown in the green. He smiles and shakes his head. “No, she’s going to have brown eyes,” he says contentedly. “She’ll take after her father. Her hair is dark too.”

 

He lightly touches Grace’s wispy brown hair. Actually, he’s very pleased that Grace has inherited some of her father’s features.

 

“Grace Norg,” he murmurs. “She’s beautiful.”

 

Lyle’s eyes widen. “Brainy? Don’t you want her to have your family name?”

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Querl replies. He looks up at Lyle and smiles wryly. “She’s always going to know she’s my daughter, Lyle. The universe isn’t going to let her forget that. But I don’t want her to forget that she’s your daughter too.”

 

He lets Lyle take Grace to show everyone, even though he doesn’t really want to relinquish her. The proud look on Lyle’s face as he cradles Grace to his chest is worth it.

 

\--

 

When Lyle brings baby Grace out to meet her extended family, he feels overwhelmingly proud of the tiny child in his arms. It makes him so happy that Brainy wants Grace to be a Norg, though he would never have asked that of his husband. He can hardly believe that he’s actually a father, but he is. Finally, Grace is here.

 

Ryn has fallen asleep against Garth, so the Winathian gently shakes him awake. “Hey, buddy, do you want to meet your little sister?” Garth asks as Ryn slowly stirs.

 

The question wakes Ryn up completely and he immediately looks to Lyle with wide, excited eyes. “Gracie’s here?”

 

“Yep, you’re a big brother,” Lyle says, bringing Grace over to where Ryn can see her. “Do you want to hold her?”

 

Ryn holds out his arms and accepts Grace so carefully, determined not to drop her. Lyle keeps hold of the baby just to make sure Ryn’s little arms can support her. “Wow, she’s so beautiful, Lyle. How can she be so little?”

 

“How else do you think she would fit inside your brother?” Lyle asks with a grin. “All babies start out small. Gracie weighs seven pounds and eight ounces.”

 

“That’s so small,” Ryn breathes, amazed. “She’ll get bigger, right?”

 

“Of course she will,” Lyle promises. “What do you think of her?”

 

“I’m glad we have her.” Ryn looks up at Lyle with watery eyes. “I know Querl was scared about having a baby but I’m so glad, Lyle. I love her.”

 

The others gather around to admire the baby. Ayla gushes about how darling she is, while Imra and Garth are calmer and more reserved about their praise of her, but undeniably smitten with her as well. Imra looks at Lyle and smiles at him knowingly.

 

“It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?” she asks him.

 

“The best feeling,” Lyle replies solemnly. He can’t imagine being more in love with any being than he is with this perfect little angel.

 

After a little while, Lyle decides it’s time to get Grace back to Brainy, who is probably worrying himself to death at this point. Besides, Grace needs some one-on-one time with her mother. So, with Ryn in tow this time, he carries the baby back to Brainy’s room.

 

Ryn clambers up onto the bad with Brainy and settles down beside him. Brainy reaches out for the baby, gratefully cradling his daughter to his chest.

 

“I can’t believe we’re parents,” Lyle says, flopping down in a chair with a sigh. “This feels… surreal.”

 

“I think she’s hungry,” Brainy muses, too enthralled with Grace to really pay Lyle any attention. “Lyle, can you untie the back of my gown?”

 

Frowning, Lyle reaches over and unties Brainy’s gown for him. “Are you going to try breastfeeding? I thought you didn’t want to do that?”

 

Brainy shrugs and gives a sheepish smile. “I guess… that was before I saw her. She can have whatever she wants now.”

 

The Coluan adjusts his gown and then lifts Grace to his chest. A moment later, the baby latches on and begins to suckle. Brainy startles just a little, grimacing at the foreign feeling for a moment. Then his smile returns and he looks over at Lyle.

 

“She catches on quick,” he murmurs.

 

“Well, she’s related to you,” Lyle replies with a grin. “Was there any question about how smart she would be?”

 

Ryn is staring at Brainy like his brother has grown an extra head. “Whoa, that’s so weird. How does that work?” he questions, prodding Brainy’s chest lightly.

 

Lyle tunes out the very detailed explanation that Brainy gives Ryn about mammary glands and how they operate. He focuses instead on the tiny babe pressed to his husband’s chest. Grace is suckling fiercely for being so small and brand new.

 

So much has happened in such a short time. It’s strange to think now that he almost turned Brainy down and stayed in the Legion. If he’d said no, it would have broken Brainy’s heart and probably would have done terrible damage to their relationship. Brainy would have withdrawn from Lyle, and when Ryn turned up, Brainy would have been on his own, trying to raise a kid.

 

But that’s not how it happened. Now they’re a family.

 

\--

 

If anyone had told Querl two years ago that he’d be married with two children before long, he probably would have laughed at them. Granted, everyone else seemed to know how Lyle felt about Querl long before Querl himself had any clue. Maybe it was just Querl who thought this could never be a reality for him.

 

He’s never been happier to have been wrong.

 

Grace was born at the end of October. It’s now late December, and Querl is finally almost healed from the operation. Meanwhile, Grace is growing like a weed. She a beautiful, brilliant baby and Querl can already tell that she’s going to do incredible things in her lifetime.

 

The blue and green nursery is full of toys and baby supplies now. Against one wall is a beautiful wooden crib – a gift from Garth and Imra – where Grace sleeps. It’s also now home to Ryn’s teddy bear, Assistant Bear, which he insisted on giving to Grace.

 

Baby toys and items are also strewn throughout the house now, despite Querl’s best attempts to keep the house clean. There are baby blankets and rattles and stuffed animals all over the living room, and more in the kitchen, and stacked up on the stairs.

 

Querl has spent the last couple of months cooped up inside the house as he recovers from surgery. The past few days, however, he has ventured out to the greenhouse to tend to his plants, which Lyle and Ryn have been taking care of for him. He leaves Grace inside with Lyle, because it’s too cold for her outside right now. However, when it warms up again, he fully intends to take his daughter out to the greenhouse with him.

 

No dangerous experiments while Grace is still small, of course. But he has made up his mind to immerse both Ryn and Grace in the world of science. Even if Ryn does insist on becoming a Legionnaire, he’ll need to be a great scientist if he wants to follow in Querl’s and Lyle’s footsteps. And Querl rather likes the notion of providing the universe with two amazingly brilliant young people. His children will have every opportunity that he did not when he was young.

 

Most of his time is taken up by tending to Grace. Even when there’s nothing in particular to do, Querl spends his time with his baby. They nap together on the couch, or he sets up her baby swing in the kitchen while he cleans, or sometimes he just sits with her and marvels at the bright curiosity he can already see in her eyes.

 

“Momma loves you,” he murmurs to her as he gently bathes her in the sink. “You’re such a beautiful, smart baby. Momma’s right here for you.”

 

Lyle is surprised that Querl doesn’t mind being “Momma.” He says that he just assumed Querl wouldn’t like having the typically feminine role, being a man. However, Querl actually is quite content with it. After all, it’s what he is. And he has little time for silly Earth customs about what a mother should and shouldn’t be. He knows what he always wanted his own mother to be for him, and he is happy to give that and more to his Grace.

 

Even though she’s so small, Grace is learning faster than any human child would. She already smiles so broadly and giggles and gives little high-pitched squeals when she’s happy. Her body has to catch up with her mind, though; she’s still too small to properly support herself and she relies on Querl completely.

 

That’s fine with him, of course. He is delighted to give her all of his time and all of his love. She is so small and fragile that it scares him to trust her with anyone else. He knows logically that she is not actually smaller than is normal for a newborn, and he knows that Lyle is just as capable of caring for her as Querl himself is, but he can’t help it. He just wants to protect his Princess from everything.

 

It’s not that he loves Grace more than he loves Ryn. There’s plenty of room in his heart for both of his children, and his husband too. It’s just that he has never experienced a bond quite like this before. Grace has a connection to him that few others can lay claim to. She grew inside his body – she is his only daughter, and the physical realization of his love for Lyle.

 

He hopes she’s just as brilliant as any Dox ever was, of course. But he also hopes that she takes after Lyle and is carefree and loving and understanding like he is. He hopes she can live her life without being feared and hated by others; that she can prove everyone’s opinions of the Dox family wrong by being the most beautiful, wonderful person the universe has ever seen.

 

Lifting his daughter from the sink, Querl redresses her and cradles her close to his chest, gazing down at her fondly. “You are beautiful, Princess,” he murmurs to her. “You are the closest thing there will ever be to perfection.”

 

“Brainy, I’m jealous.” Lyle has just walked into the kitchen and he looks amused. “You never say things like that about me.”

 

Querl regards his husband critically for a moment, before he is once again distracted by his daughter. Grace is pressing her face against Querl’s chest, mouthing urgently in search of milk. “Sorry, Lyle, what’s your complaint? I don’t change your diapers and carry you around everywhere?”

 

“You’re so mean, B,” Lyle pouts, but he leans in to quickly kiss Querl on the lips.

 

The kiss sends tingles down Querl’s spine in a good way.  He can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. Is this what he’s been so afraid of; being married, having children, and always being surrounded by people who love him?

 

So he leans forward and kisses Lyle again, this time deepening the kiss. It feels like the morning Lyle proposed to him in the kitchen. It feels right.

 

This is what everybody wants. He loves his family, his family loves him, and the compromises they’ve all made haven’t kept them from being who they want to be, or taken away any sense of freedom that they’re entitled to.

 

“We make a great team,” Querl remarks after he pulls back from the kiss, grinning and daring Lyle to challenge him.

 

“The stuff of legends,” Lyle agrees, and he’s grinning too.

 

Just for good measure, even though they’ve got two kids of their own now and they’re supposed to be adults, they share a victorious fist bump.

 

Grace wails loudly, catching their attention, and the moment is gone. Querl feels momentarily guilty for ignoring his daughter’s hungry cries. He excuses himself to the nursery to feed his daughter, pecking Lyle on the lips once more before he goes.

 

All things considered, and though it took a while to get to this point… Querl thinks he’s _finally_ happy.

 

~END


End file.
